{"id":108855,"date":"2022-12-20T04:46:02","date_gmt":"2022-12-20T11:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=108855"},"modified":"2022-12-20T04:46:21","modified_gmt":"2022-12-20T11:46:21","slug":"mallard-hen-on-silky-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/20\/mallard-hen-on-silky-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Mallard Hen On Silky Water"},"content":{"rendered":"

While at one of my local ponds two days ago, the only birds I photographed were ducks. This Mallard hen floating on silky water caught my eyes.<\/p>\n

\"MallardMallard hen on silky waters \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I like her pose, her head turn, and the soft morning light but most of all, I loved the patterns on the water that she was on. The cool grays and soft blues reflected on the water complemented her warmer brown and buff tones to perfection. I also liked her ripply reflection and the swirls in the water.<\/p>\n

This is a simple image of a duck species that is very abundant across North America but it “speaks” to me. Sometimes simple is enough for me.<\/p>\n

Mallards<\/span><\/a> and American Robins were two of the first bird species that I learned to identify as a very young girl. Both species probably have a lot to do with my obsession and passion for photographing birds today and I am still deeply fond of them.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Mallard photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While at one of my local ponds two days ago, the only birds I photographed were ducks. This Mallard hen floating on silky water caught my eyes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":108851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,965,709,26],"tags":[4004,4237,970,4717,1129,126,4620,4070,4359,1604,1984,2504,6238,13564,8018,3996,2063],"class_list":["post-108855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-mallards","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-anas-platyrhynchos","tag-autumn","tag-dabbling-ducks","tag-duck","tag-ducks-2","tag-fall","tag-female","tag-hen","tag-mallard","tag-pond","tag-reflection","tag-silky-water","tag-tones","tag-urban","tag-water","tag-waterfowl"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/mallard-hen-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-6429.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-sjJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":61840,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/12\/01\/mallard-feather-floating-on-a-pond\/","url_meta":{"origin":108855,"position":0},"title":"Mallard Feather Floating On A Pond","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This was my favorite image of the morning. Just a fluffy mallard feather and the silky reflections on the pond.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Floating mallard feather, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mallard-feather-on-a-winter-pond-mia-mcpherson-4638.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mallard-feather-on-a-winter-pond-mia-mcpherson-4638.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mallard-feather-on-a-winter-pond-mia-mcpherson-4638.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mallard-feather-on-a-winter-pond-mia-mcpherson-4638.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48509,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/09\/18\/ruddy-duck-hen-in-golden-evening-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":108855,"position":1},"title":"Ruddy Duck Hen in Golden Evening Light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Ruddy Duck hen was photographed at a pond close to where I live during the evening hours and I loved the golden light on the bird and on the water.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ruddy Duck female in evening light, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ruddy-duck-female-mia-mcpherson-2497.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ruddy-duck-female-mia-mcpherson-2497.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ruddy-duck-female-mia-mcpherson-2497.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ruddy-duck-female-mia-mcpherson-2497.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46661,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/05\/08\/mallard-ducklings-signs-of-spring\/","url_meta":{"origin":108855,"position":2},"title":"Mallard Ducklings – Signs of Spring","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I haven't seen many chicks yet this spring but yesterday I saw a Mallard hen with her ducklings swimming behind her on a local pond and I had to aim my lens at them.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mallard hen with her ducklings, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/mallard-ducklings-mia-mcpherson-1633.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/mallard-ducklings-mia-mcpherson-1633.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/mallard-ducklings-mia-mcpherson-1633.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/mallard-ducklings-mia-mcpherson-1633.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":108145,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/11\/19\/drake-mallard-and-reflections\/","url_meta":{"origin":108855,"position":3},"title":"Drake Mallard And Reflections","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I am sharing a simple drake Mallard photo taken at my local pond. I liked this image because of the reflections of the duck, light pole and leaf.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Drake Mallard reflections, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/mallard-reflection-leaf-mia-mcpherson-3767.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/mallard-reflection-leaf-mia-mcpherson-3767.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/mallard-reflection-leaf-mia-mcpherson-3767.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/mallard-reflection-leaf-mia-mcpherson-3767.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44204,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/01\/03\/mallard-hen-caught-in-a-ring-billed-gull-feeding-frenzy\/","url_meta":{"origin":108855,"position":4},"title":"Mallard Hen Caught in a Ring-billed Gull Feeding Frenzy","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I noticed a Mallard hen and was watching and photographing her when the gulls swarmed around her like bees do honey and caught her immediately after a Ring-billed Gull grabbed her bread right out of her bill.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mallard caught in a Ring-billed Gull feeding frenzy, Salt Lake County, 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