Without making a peep, from the dense patch of reeds on the north side of Niles Pond appeared Mama Mallard and four little ducklings. As long as I stood perfectly still and didn’t make any rustling noises, Mama didn’t mind my presence. She and the ducklings foraged all along the edge of the pond, until they spotted the males. They quickly skedaddled, making a beeline back to the reeds and just as quietly as they had emerged, back they slipped into the shelter of the cattails.
For over a month our shores have been graced with a pair of Northern Pintails. These beautiful dabbling ducks aren’t extremely rare, but we are at the very northern edge of their winter grounds. And, too, they are a bird listed as in sharp decline by the North American Breeding Bird Survey.
The little duo are tremendously fun to watch. They are exhibiting very different behaviors, in large part I think because the male and female wing patterns are distinctly different from each other.
The female is super spunky. Her coloration is similar to a female Mallards, which makes her easily camouflaged amongst a mixed flock of ducks. She’s not intimidated by territorial behavior on the part of the Mallards and forages alongside the Mallards and American Black Ducks.
On the other hand, the male’s strikingly beautiful and unmistakable wing pattern sets him apart and at risk amongst the flock. He is elusive and if catches sight of a human, he makes a fast beeline to the opposite side of the pond. When feeding in a group, the Mallards and gulls attack him, easily able to latch onto his long elegant pintail and pull him down underwater (very disturbing to observe).
Papa Pintail’s morning stretches.
The female spends alternating time between foraging with the flock at the shoreline edge and dip dabbling with the male in the shallow water. Northern Pintails eat seeds, water bugs, crustaceans, snails, and grains, feeding in a variety of manners, dabbling, filter feeding, eating from the ground surface, and tipping-up in shallow water.
Female Pintail foreground, female Mallard Background
Female Mallards and female Northern Pintails are similar in appearance and it may be difficult to distinguish between the two. Here are some clues to look for:
1) Female Mallards have light orange feet and legs. Northern Pintails feet and legs are gray.
2) The female Pintail has a longer neck.
3) A female Pintail’s bill is solid gray, whereas a female Mallards bill is mottled brown and orange.
4) The female Mallard has a blue stripe on her wing, the Pintail does not.
Notice the beautiful long neck of the female Pintail.
The female Northern Pintail’s bill, legs, and feet are gray in color.
Comparing Duck Butts ~
Note the short stubby tail of the male Mallard in the foreground versus the Pintails long, thin elegant black tail feathers.
Male and female Northern Pintail butts
Papa Pintail has a beautiful buffy orange stripe and below that a forest green bar.
I hope so much the Pintail pair have chosen Cape Ann for their winter home. More photos to come!
Mallard duckling families from around Niles Pond, Henry’s Pond, and Loblolly Cove
The ducklings appear so small and vulnerable when crossing the road
Ducklings hungrily foraging in the seaweed at dusk. The duckling with the darker feathers on top of its head has a gimpy leg yet despite that, she keeps up with her sibling.
Mama Mallard with ducklings tucked under her breast and well camouflaged
There’s always one in every crowd
The bachelors
Beauty Surprise at Twilight!
As much as I was surprised by this sweet glimpse of mama and her ducklings coming around a bend in the marsh, she was as equally surprised to see me, hidden behind a clump of tall grasses. One glance, and mom quickly departed with her nine (!!) newly emerged ducklings.
I was standing so still while filming yesterday morning that I don’t think the female mallard was at first aware of my presence. What a wonderful treat to see she and the ducklings emerge from the reeds growing along the water’s edge. They are amazingly fast and adeptly darted through the water and across the beach, as though they had been born months earlier. I was getting a tremendous cramp and had to stand quickly, which was mama mallard’s cue to chide the ducklings back into the tall grass.
