Mallards

Mallards are regularly seen on the lake.  It is a mixed group of colourful males and the duller brown females.  Most of these birds will be paired.  The correct name for a group of mallards is a sute or sord.

They feed using their broad flattened bill, which is adapted to filter a wide range of tiny plant and animal matter from the surface of the lake.  Grass, seeds and fruit can also be eaten.  Hopefully these ducks will appreciate our new duck field. 

Loud quacks can often be heard as you appraoch the lake.  It is the females that make most of the noise!

Their plumage must be kept in pristine condition to ensure that it remains waterproof.  Bathing and then preeening is essential.

When the wind howls down the lake many of the birds take shelter in the reeds and along the edges of the lake.  Some sit bravely out on the water, head into the wind.