The calendar may say that it is the first full day of spring, but ice formed on my pond when the temperature remained below freezing all day. Part of the pond remained open for the pair of mallards who have been visiting the last few days.
Mallards on Cold Spring Day
As the temperature remained above freezing last night, most of the pond ice melted which allowed some mallards to enjoy the open water today and dabbled for food. At least when the two males weren’t chasing each other as there was only one female. But it will be a couple months before any baby mallards can be spotted enjoying a swim at the pond.
Waiting for Baby Ducks
The hooded merganser on my pond this spring seem to chase each other around the pond a lot, but the other day it was two male mallards doing some fighting.
Just Before the Fight
As I approached the pond today while mowing, I noticed some baby ducks scooting across the water and I thought the wood ducks had hatched. So I grabbed my camera but by the time I came back, they were gone so I started mowing again. Eventually I saw them heading down the path to the area I hadn’t mowed yet. After a closer look, I discovered it was the mallard and her babies and not the wood ducks yet.
New Batch of Ducks
Watch the baby mallard ducks follow mom around the pond.