Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Anas platyrhynchos, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, cold duck, duck, green spring gardens, ice, mallard, mallard duck on February 3, 2014|
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When I was a college student in the 1970’s a cheap sparkling wine known as “Cold Duck” was really popular (along with Zapple, Annie Greensprings, and Boone’s Farm). Do they still produce those wines?
The title of this posting, however, refers to a bird that I observed on the ice this past weekend, not to a retro beverage.
I was struck by the contrast between the vivid colors of the male mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) and the drab gray and white of the frozen pond. The duck seemed to be getting into a yoga-like pose, with one foot flat on the ice and the pointed toe of the other foot providing additional stability. Wait a minute, do ducks have toes?
I also couldn’t help but notice that ducks look a lot more graceful when swimming or flying—walking looks like it would be awkward for a duck. I suspect that no composer will every produce a ballet entitled “Duck Pond,” which would scarcely provide any competition for “Swan Lake.”
In the first few days of February, our temperatures have soared over the freezing mark, but there has been little melting on the surface of the pond and I did not detect any quacks in the ice.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
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Zen duck
Posted in Birds, commentary, Humor, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, duck, levitation, mallard duck, Potomac River on January 4, 2013| 8 Comments »
Earlier this week I managed to photograph this male Mallard Duck as he secretly practiced the ancient art of Zen levitation. Note his closed eyes and relaxed concentration as his body is gently lifted out of the water. With sufficient practice, Zen master ducks can take off and land in this position, like a helicopter or a Harrier jet.
Zen levitation
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
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