{"id":70534,"date":"2020-06-05T05:49:44","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T11:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=70534"},"modified":"2025-02-14T04:33:25","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T10:33:25","slug":"mallard-ducklings-in-an-alpine-creek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/06\/05\/mallard-ducklings-in-an-alpine-creek\/","title":{"rendered":"Mallard Ducklings In An Alpine Creek"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MallardMallard ducklings lined up on a log – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I saw and photographed quite a few lovely birds yesterday including some MacGillivray’s Warblers which I have found difficult to locate let alone take images of but today I wanted to share some Mallard duckling photos instead of the more attention grabbing birds I took images of yesterday.<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

Because Mallards are so common in North America that I believe they are often overlooked and passed by without a thought. I’m a bird photographer so when given the opportunity I photograph them.<\/p>\n

Also, these ducklings are pretty cute.<\/p>\n

\"TwoTwo Mallard ducklings on a log in a creek – Nikon D500, f9, 1\/320, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The ducklings were all on a log in the creek when I first saw them. It didn’t take them long before they all left the log and joined their parents in the water. One by one their floofy little bodies settled onto the surface of the creek and bobbed around.<\/p>\n

\"NineNine Mallard ducklings floating in a creek – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/320, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The tiny Mallard ducklings stayed close together and weren’t far behind the hen. I liked how the morning sun helped them to stand out from the darker colored water in this frame.<\/p>\n

\"MallardMallard duckling walking on a log in a creek – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

For a bit my focus switched over to photographing Cliff Swallows gathering mud on the creek bank to build their nests and when they flew off I turned my attention and my lens back to the Mallard ducklings.<\/p>\n

\"PairPair of Mallard ducklings – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I took a lot of photos of the Mallard ducklings. Some were of single ducklings, some were taken of two or three together, and some were of all the ducklings that I could see or fit into my viewfinder.<\/p>\n

\"MallardMallard ducklings about to re-enter a creek – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I know from experience that when I post Mallard photos and write about them here on my site that they don’t seem to get as many views as other birds do.<\/p>\n

But here is my thing, when I started writing about the birds I see in the field more than ten years ago what I wanted to do was share the beauty of the birds I find through my photos and to tell the stories behind the images.\u00a0For me that means all<\/em> of the birds, even the less popular species.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good. Stay safe.<\/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":"

I know from experience that when I post Mallard photos and write about them here on my site that they don’t seem to get as many views as other birds do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139888,"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":[27,965,1731,26,773],"tags":[4237,1919,3940,4068,3843,5774,1129,5259,4414,126,10006,4962,1604,7951,4069,3996,2063],"class_list":["post-70534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-mallards","category-summit-county-utah","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-anas-platyrhynchos","tag-aspen","tag-canyon","tag-chicks","tag-creek","tag-cute","tag-duck","tag-duckling","tag-ducklings","tag-ducks-2","tag-floofy","tag-log","tag-mallard","tag-mallards","tag-mountains","tag-water","tag-waterfowl"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/mallard-ducklings-log-creek-mia-mcpherson-7391.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-ilE","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":103691,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/06\/28\/mallard-ducklings-and-white-water-crowfoot\/","url_meta":{"origin":70534,"position":0},"title":"Mallard Ducklings And White Water Crowfoot","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I am sharing photos of Mallard ducklings and blooming White Water Crowfoot taken in a creek high in the Wasatch Mountains.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mallard duckling swimming in White Water Crowfoot, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/mallard-duckling-white-water-crowfoot-mia-mcpherson-2003.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/mallard-duckling-white-water-crowfoot-mia-mcpherson-2003.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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light, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/mallard-babies-in-grass-mia-mcpherson-6083.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/mallard-babies-in-grass-mia-mcpherson-6083.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/mallard-babies-in-grass-mia-mcpherson-6083.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/mallard-babies-in-grass-mia-mcpherson-6083.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40219,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/06\/28\/mallard-hen-with-duckling-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":70534,"position":2},"title":"Mallard Hen with Duckling at Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Because I was close I wasn't able to get a single image with all of the ducklings and the hen in the frame so I focused on the Mallard hen and with one duckling resting right behind her.","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":"Mallard hen with duckling, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/mallard-hen-duckling-mia-mcpherson-9146.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/mallard-hen-duckling-mia-mcpherson-9146.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/mallard-hen-duckling-mia-mcpherson-9146.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/mallard-hen-duckling-mia-mcpherson-9146.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":113664,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/06\/04\/wasatch-mountain-mallard-babies\/","url_meta":{"origin":70534,"position":3},"title":"Wasatch Mountain Mallard Babies","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 4, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I can't pass up photographing mountain Mallard babies when I find their little fluffy selves on mountain creeks, streams, lakes, or reservoirs.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mountain Mallard babies in a creek, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/mallard-ducklings-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-7264.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/mallard-ducklings-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-7264.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/mallard-ducklings-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-7264.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/mallard-ducklings-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-7264.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5104,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/06\/06\/spring-ducklings\/","url_meta":{"origin":70534,"position":4},"title":"Spring Ducklings","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 6, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I believe these to be Mallards but if I am wrong I don't mind being corrected, I do have trouble with female duck ID at times and I appreciate all the help I can get with them.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mallard and ducklings, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/mallard-and-ducklings-mia-mcpherson-8637.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-and-ducklings-mia-mcpherson-8637.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/mallard-and-ducklings-mia-mcpherson-8637.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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