I managed to get to a duck pond today – first time in a while. Not a lot going on this time of year, and no way to get down to water level. I found this one in halfway decent light and wondering what it is – the next crossbreed Mallard?? The spotted feathers are quite attractive.
All comments welcome!
Canon R5, 100-500 + 2X at 900, f/13, 1/1600 sec at ISO 1600. A little tonal work done in LR but nothing special. Denoise and some BG cleanup in PS.
Nice light and comp. Probably a hybrid mallard mutt. I have an almost all black duck that also appears to be a hybrid. Someone out there may have more knowledge about these quirky ducks,
This certainly looks mallardish. It also looks like it might be leucistic.
Very nice detail, exposure and eye contact.
Leucism also crossed my mind, but there are so many duck hybrids these days… It is a pretty bird though, and well-captured here.
Thanks @David_Schoen, @Dennis_Plank and @Max_Waugh! It’s head looks like a Mallard, to my untrained eye. (I love to photograph birds but don’t know much about them.) There were a lot of very dark Mallard-looking ones. I was surprised to read that Mallrds “commonly crossbreed with black ducks, wigeon, shovelers, cinnamon teal, green-winged teal, and gadwalls.” Most if not all of those are found around here.
