{"id":109334,"date":"2023-01-05T02:43:35","date_gmt":"2023-01-05T09:43:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=109334"},"modified":"2023-09-08T02:44:49","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T08:44:49","slug":"dapper-mallard-drake-in-snow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/05\/dapper-mallard-drake-in-snow\/","title":{"rendered":"Dapper Mallard Drake In Snow"},"content":{"rendered":"

After I photographed the handsome Gadwall drake<\/span><\/a> that I shared yesterday I couldn’t resist taking images of this alert and dapper Mallard drake in the snow. I didn’t know how long the sunlight would last and I wanted to photograph as many birds as I could while I had light.<\/p>\n

\"DapperDapper Mallard drake in snow \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/4000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Mallards are abundant throughout North America and sometimes I think they get overlooked as subjects. Me? I am fond of them. The drake mallards with their iridescent green heads, curly tail feathers, and bright yellow bills appeal to me as much as any other birds do. So do the females even though they aren’t as flashy as the males of this species.<\/p>\n

There were hen Mallards in the water and resting in the snow near this drake. I enjoyed his pose, the way he stood out from the snow, and the lovely afternoon light I had when I took this photo of him.<\/p>\n

Even though we are in the depths of winter the Mallards<\/span><\/a> at my local ponds are getting ready for spring. They are already mating and the drakes are chasing the hens. When I look at my long range forecast for the next 10 to 15 days it looks pretty dreary but these dabbling ducks remind me that spring isn’t all that far away. On the dreariest winter days that seem to last forever, I appreciate that reminder.<\/p>\n

I’m not wishing winter or the precipitation that has come with it this winter away but I do long for warmer days and more daylight hours. Soon all of that will be upon us. I know that.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

After I photographed the handsome Gadwall drake that I shared yesterday I couldn’t resist taking images of this alert and dapper Mallard drake in the snow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":109321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_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":""},"categories":[27,965,709,26],"tags":[4237,4717,13596,4483,1129,126,4062,1604,7951,4050,4328,8018,2063,373],"class_list":["post-109334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-mallards","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-anas-platyrhynchos","tag-dabbling-ducks","tag-dapper","tag-drake","tag-duck","tag-ducks-2","tag-male","tag-mallard","tag-mallards","tag-snow","tag-snowy","tag-urban","tag-waterfowl","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/mallard-drake-dapper-snow-mia-mcpherson-7562.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-srs","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":110126,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/02\/09\/calling-mallard-drake-in-the-city\/","url_meta":{"origin":109334,"position":0},"title":"Calling Mallard Drake In The City","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I enjoy photographing even the most abundant ducks at my local city ponds. I simply couldn't resist taking images of this calling Mallard drake two days ago.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Calling Mallard drake on an urban pond, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/mallard-drake-open-bill-mia-mcphersonn-2002.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/mallard-drake-open-bill-mia-mcphersonn-2002.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/mallard-drake-open-bill-mia-mcphersonn-2002.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/mallard-drake-open-bill-mia-mcphersonn-2002.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":119683,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/14\/male-mallard-resting-in-snow-connections\/","url_meta":{"origin":109334,"position":1},"title":"Male Mallard Resting In Snow – Connections","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 14, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I visited my local ponds yesterday even though the sky was gray, and snow was falling. While I was there, I photographed this male Mallard resting in the snow.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Mallard watching me photographing him, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/mallard-drake-snow-mia-mcpherson-2390.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/mallard-drake-snow-mia-mcpherson-2390.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/mallard-drake-snow-mia-mcpherson-2390.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/mallard-drake-snow-mia-mcpherson-2390.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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McPherson","date":"January 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"My favorite image of the day was this high key Mallard drake portrait that was taken in the late afternoon which was the only time I could see the sun behind the clouds the whole day.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"High key Mallard drake portrait, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mallard-drake-high-key-mia-mcpherson-6219.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-drake-high-key-mia-mcpherson-6219.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mallard-drake-high-key-mia-mcpherson-6219.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I was able to photograph a Mallard drake as it lifted off from the water on the south side of the auto tour loop.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Drake Mallard in eclipse plumage, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mallard-drake-flight-mia-mcpherson-3314.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-drake-flight-mia-mcpherson-3314.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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