{"id":55385,"date":"2018-12-22T05:31:19","date_gmt":"2018-12-22T12:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=55385"},"modified":"2025-09-13T08:45:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T13:45:53","slug":"domestic-mallard-feather-details-up-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/12\/22\/domestic-mallard-feather-details-up-close\/","title":{"rendered":"Domestic Mallard Feather Details – Up Close"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DomesticDomestic Mallard feather details – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

There are times when I am at my local pond when I sit and wait for for the wild birds to fly in, fly out, get close, do something unusual or show some kind of unique or interesting behavior and when none of that is happening I pay attention to the domestic Mallards that are always around and photograph them too.<\/p>\n

Even though these birds have been domesticated and are somewhat tame these ducks still interest me as subjects to photograph.\u00a0 The variations in their plumage catches my eyes.<\/p>\n

A few days ago when nothing much else was happening the feather details of one resting mallards that was close by caught my eye so I took a few images of it because I liked the colors and fine details I saw through my viewfinder.<\/p>\n

When I processed this photo I cropped it even more so that all that was left was a macro look at the feathers which for whatever unknown reason I find appealing.<\/p>\n

Maybe it is the curves of the feathers or the combination of warm and cool tones in the duck’s plumage.<\/p>\n

I really can’t pin down why I like this photo and honestly I don’t feel a need to figure out why I do. I simply do.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my domestic Mallard photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I really can’t pin down why I like this mallard photo and honestly I don’t feel a need to figure out why I do. I simply do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":155694,"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":[27,2363,709,26],"tags":[5575,4142,10989,6899,1129,126,4608,5025,1604,1984,4156,2063],"class_list":["post-55385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-domestic-ducks","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-anas-platyrhynchos-domesticus","tag-close-up","tag-details","tag-domestic-duck","tag-duck","tag-ducks-2","tag-feather","tag-feathers","tag-mallard","tag-pond","tag-resting","tag-waterfowl"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mallard-domestic-feather-close-up-mia-mcpherson-5948.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-epj","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":55385,"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":55217,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/12\/05\/resting-feral-domestic-mallard-with-an-eye-on-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":55385,"position":1},"title":"Resting Feral Domestic Mallard With An Eye On Me","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The only image I liked of the few I took yesterday afternoon was of this resting, feral domestic Mallard that appeared to be keeping an eye on me while it floated next to the shoreline of the pond.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Resting Mallard with an eye on me, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/domestic-mallard-resting-mia-mcpherson-2551.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/domestic-mallard-resting-mia-mcpherson-2551.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/domestic-mallard-resting-mia-mcpherson-2551.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/domestic-mallard-resting-mia-mcpherson-2551.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45173,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/02\/22\/showcasing-manky-mallard-portraits\/","url_meta":{"origin":55385,"position":2},"title":"Showcasing Manky Mallard Portraits – They Are Oddly Beautiful","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Some people might call these manky mallards homely, weird or even downright ugly but I prefer thinking of them as oddly beautiful and believe they are worthy of being showcased once in a while.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Alert domestic Mallard portrait, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mallard-domestic-portrait-mia-mcpherson-3108.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-domestic-portrait-mia-mcpherson-3108.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mallard-domestic-portrait-mia-mcpherson-3108.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mallard-domestic-portrait-mia-mcpherson-3108.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44084,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/12\/23\/domesticated-mallard-with-a-hidden-face\/","url_meta":{"origin":55385,"position":3},"title":"Hidden Face On A Domestic Mallard","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Ten days ago I photographed a manky mallard at my local pond and when I pulled images of it up on my monitor I discovered that it has a hidden \"face\" and once I saw it I couldn't un-see it. Do you see it?","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hidden face on a Domestic Mallard's bill, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/domestic-mallard-mia-mcpherson-4357.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/domestic-mallard-mia-mcpherson-4357.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/domestic-mallard-mia-mcpherson-4357.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/domestic-mallard-mia-mcpherson-4357.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109008,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/26\/made-it-through-christmas-and-i-am-just-ducky\/","url_meta":{"origin":55385,"position":4},"title":"Made It Through Christmas And I Am Just Ducky","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, I made it through the Christmas part of the holidays this year in one piece and I am feeling just ducky.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hen Mallard on ice with a feather on her bill, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/mallard-hen-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-6474.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/mallard-hen-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-6474.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/mallard-hen-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-6474.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/mallard-hen-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-6474.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":78044,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/01\/20\/mallard-hen-on-slippery-ice\/","url_meta":{"origin":55385,"position":5},"title":"Mallard Hen On Slippery Ice","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hen Mallard sliding on her belly on ice, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mallard-hen-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-5488.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-hen-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-5488.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mallard-hen-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-5488.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mallard-hen-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-5488.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}