The Mallards
They hang around the neighborhood all year. But in the spring and summer, they are much more social. They think nothing of coming up close to my chair, on the beach, shamelessly looking for food. In late May, I always see a male and a female together. Then, a few weeks later, a family of six or seven ducklings follow behind them. As the summer progresses, the family dwindles. They fall victim to hawks and eagles and other birds of prey. By September, they are all the same size and it is difficult to tell the adutls from the juveniles. Then, at some point, they split up and start the process all over again in the spring.
