Mallard hen landing on slick ice – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Last week I took a series of photos of a Mallard hen as she landed on slippery ice at a pond close to home in Salt Lake City. The hen appears to have some domestic genes but I am not going to hold that against her because she is as free to come and go as any wild bird.
I saw the Mallard hen flying in and took photos of her as she approached the ice. With her wings spread I clipped her wings or feet in every frame. When she touched down on the ice I was able to photograph her sliding across the pond and fortunately didn’t clip a thing in these four images.
Mallard hen sliding on ice – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
As I took these photos I was giggling because the Mallard hen looked funny sliding around on the ice. She was still using her wings to help slow down her forward momentum when I took this photo.
Hen Mallard sliding on her belly on ice – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
And in this frame it looked as though her feet were trying to pass her belly. It was this image that made me laugh the most when I view it at home on my large screen. It was also the photo that convinced me to share these images here today. She appeared to be looking directly at me.
Mallard Hen on an icy pond – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
When the Mallard hen stopped sliding across the ice she was able to stand up and recovered from a slippery situation. I’d like to say that she walked away gracefully. Truthfully though, she waddled away.
Life is good.
Mia
To view more of my Mallard photos plus facts and information about this species click here.
These are wonderful!
So funny! Thanks for the laugh at the expense of this poor lady!
Thanks for a great series! And the chuckle upon reading your closing sentence! 🦆🦆🦆
She has great form! Seemed to be enjoying the sliding stop.
I enjoyed this sequence. I can relate to the awkwardness of being on ice.
Great series of pics. Landing on ice has gotta be tough. Despite how fast the duck was sliding across the ice…the detail you captured is remarkable. Thanks Mia.
Wow. Waddle or not, without question she was more graceful that I would be. More graceful than I ever am.
You found my spirit animal!
Good save with the belly flop! She is a very attractive duck — shows that diversity is a good thing! 🙂
Delightful, Mia! The sequence you captured and shared here really tells this story about a female mallard duck.
Wonderful to see these unusual images!
Mia, what a neat sequence, you nailed it. Thanks and way to go!