If you're a birder, you'll know what a life list is. It's basically a list of all the bird species one has observed and positively ID'd in one's lifetime. This blog is a record of my "critter" life list (mostly of birds), including photos I've taken over the years, some of the actual lifer if I was lucky enough to get the shot. Don't expect National Geographic quality stuff here, just the work of an amateur photog who loves to trudge out into nature.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos)

May 2004, Los Angeles County Arboretum, Arcadia, CA 
5/4/02 San Joaquin Wildlife Area, Irvine, Orange County, CA 
11/30/02 Silverwood Lake Recreation Area, San Bernardino County, CA 
7/3/05 Auto tour, Modoc National Wildlife Refuge, Modoc County, CA
8/17/04 Tuolumne River, Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park, Tuolumne County, CA 
8/17/04 Tuolumne River, Tuolumne Meadows.
1/14/01 Looks like some hybrids in the mix. Andrew Clark Bird Refuge, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County, CA

LIFE LIST NOTES:

COMMON NAME: Mallard Duck

SPECIES: Anas platyrhynchos

FAMILY: Anatidae (Ducks, Geese & Swans)

LIFE LIST DATE: 3/19/1998

LOCATION: Sunnymead Ranch Lake, Moreno Valley, Riverside County, CA

From Kaufman Focus Guide: Birds of North America:

BEHAVIOR/HABITAT: The most familiar duck of the Northern hemisphere, ancestor of many domestic ducks, very common and widespread in the wild. Besides wild populations, many Mallards live in semiwild state around cities, parks, farms; these birds are often larger than wild mallards, and plumage may vary.

IDENTIFYING MARKS: 23"; Male's green head contrasts with yellow bill, white neck ring, reddish chest, gray body. Female mottled brown, with black smudges on orange bill. Both sexes show patch (speculum) on trailing edge of wing, blue with white borders. 

VOICE: Thin rreeb (male), noisy quacking like barnyard ducks (female).
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