Animal Photography Challenge - Canadian Mallard Duck

Hi steemit friends,

For my entry into today's animalphotography challenge, I am sharing a photo that I took on Saturday afternoon while out with some friends taking photos outdoors. As I mentioned a few days ago, my girlfriend and I have made it a tradition over the past few years to go out with a couple of close friends of ours during the fall to capture some photos together while the leaves on the trees are changing to bright, beautiful colours.

While we were capturing some fun pictures next to a small lake, we were suddenly approached by a four mallards who also appeared to be on a double date of sorts! Mallards are fairly common in most of Canada, as well as several other regions. The male mallards (known as "drakes") have a very distinct glossy green head with grey wings, while the females (known as "hens" or simply "ducks") have a much more tame brown feathered pattern. The particular birds who visited us were very friendly and didn't shy away from us as we walked around the area; I think that they are used to being fed by visitors of the park (which is a big no-no!). They didn't manage to get any food from us, but we were happy for the opportunity to capture some very nice photos of them! What beautiful birds!

Check out those water droplets on his head and body! Pretty cool!