If you would like to post, you'll need to register. Note that if you have a BCG store account, you'll need a new, separate account here (we keep the two sites separate for security purposes).

Mark Hauser

Mark Hauser

Well-known member
Member's gallery
A male mallard duck takes off into unknown airspace.
To boldly go where no mallard has gone before.

H75_5289-3bcg.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
 
Member's gallery
Winston Churchill (Sir) said:
Nice Capture! I dont know where that is that he is going.... - because they certainly are here! all over the place. And they are not particularly welcome here.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for your comment.
Interesting. Why aren't they welcome?
Here they are always fed by people at the ponds.
There are over 50 couples in the castle park around the corner.
 
Member's gallery
Unfortunately they are not indigenous - and have taken to breeding with our own indigenous ducks, producing hybrids. Which threatens the existence of our own yellow billed duck. Thats why they are not welcome. They are pretty, very friendly to humans, but very aggressive to females in breeding season
 
Member's gallery
Winston Churchill (Sir) said:
Unfortunately they are not indigenous - and have taken to breeding with our own indigenous ducks, producing hybrids. Which threatens the existence of our own yellow billed duck. Thats why they are not welcome. They are pretty, very friendly to humans, but very aggressive to females in breeding season
Click to expand...
I didn't know you could get this far down.
If you look at distribution maps, these cannot be found in your area.
I can understand that it's not intentional.
I also think that one can blame the mallards for adapting to the climate change and choosing a habitat that suits them.

By the way, it's the Egyptian geese that roam here in germany and don't actually belong here.
They chase away the normal gray geese and ducks from their breeding grounds
 
Last edited:
Member's gallery
RubberduckMark said:
I didn't know you could get this far down.
If you look at distribution maps, these cannot be found in your area.
I can understand that it's not intentional.
I also think that one can blame the mallards for adapting to the climate change and choosing a habitat that suits them.

By the way, it's the Egyptian geese that roam here and don't actually belong here.
They chase away the normal gray geese and ducks from their breeding grounds
Click to expand...
very invasive unfortunately - https://invasives.org.za/fact-sheet-animals/mallard/

Let's not even talk about the EGs 😂 I am in a constant state of war with them. Caught one the other day - carried it under my arm for an hour telling it how I am going to wring it's neck, put it in the slow cooker do the same it's whole family. The I let it go. I thought it would be suitably traumatised. Apparently not. The next day it was back - wife and all - and now won't leave. I JUST chased them again. They are more painful here than a real problem.
 
Member's gallery
Winston Churchill (Sir) said:
very invasive unfortunately - https://invasives.org.za/fact-sheet-animals/mallard/

Let's not even talk about the EGs 😂 I am in a constant state of war with them. Caught one the other day - carried it under my arm for an hour telling it how I am going to wring it's neck, put it in the slow cooker do the same it's whole family. The I let it go. I thought it would be suitably traumatised. Apparently not. The next day it was back - wife and all - and now won't leave. I JUST chased them again. They are more painful here than a real problem.
Click to expand...
Yes, the EG are really stubborn.
The pair that I am observing has been in the castle park for the second year now and cannot be chased away by the ducks, swans, cranes and peacocks that live there.
They are much worse when it comes to getting in the way than the ducks and the drake also likes to snap at you when it gets too much for him.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.