The bold and beautiful

 

I saw these odd-colored Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) yesterday at Hatanpää Arboretum in Tampere. 

The male in photo tried first to mate with normal female Mallard, but the female did not accept this guy. Finally the male gave up, flew back to an other pond where it met this black female Mallard. She was totally different compared to her normal colored sister and she accepted the male immediately and soon they looked like a happy just married couple. 😊

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Author

Olli Haukkovaara

email: olli.haukkovaara @ proton.me

Valkeakoski, Finland

Fog and rain

 

Three days of fog and rain. Meteorologists say that Finland is the graveyard of cyclones and this was true once again. What comes to birding during this kind of weather, it's just the matter of free time, proper clothing and equipment. But if you run out of time - and commute birding or office birding is your only chance to see birds, then fog and rain will ruin everything efficiently. During these three days I did not see any new species for 2008, nor almost anything else interesting. 

Well, ok, there was one interesting observation; odd-colored female Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) in lake Iidesjärvi at Tampere. These color anomalies are pretty common among urban Mallards, but I still like to observe and photograph them.

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Author

Olli Haukkovaara

email: olli.haukkovaara @ proton.me

Valkeakoski, Finland