Mallards ( Anas platyrhynchos )

weekly run out with Kanyl we decided to have a run up to Talkin Tarn.  We did the important things first......   Coffee and cake at the cafe.Then we set off for a walk along the tarn.

There wasn't much going on, nobody on the water, being summer the wildfowl were greatly reduced in variety, only Mallards and they were all in eclipse.  This female stood out being the only one with young, it must have been a late brood.  I never quite managed to count them all but there were at least seven.

Mallards are the commonest duck and are very widespread being absent from areas of high mountains or where there are no aquatic habitats. The UK summer population i.e. the residents has been stable since the 1960s but the wintering population (escaping the bitter continental winters) has fallen by 35%