Teens do spend a lot of time preening...

... even or especially Mallard teens. She is quite pretty in large.

We had to take my husband's car in early this morning. I picked him up so he wouldn't be stranded in their waiting room all day. And since I was up and out fairly early, I decided to see what was happening at Boardman Lake. Just beyond where I parked, a family of Mallards had gathered near shore. They were in all stages of sleep, stretching and preening... LOTS of preening. They seemed to be a bunch of teenaged siblings; the males were just starting to get a few dark green feathers on their heads. This lovely gal was almost glowing in the morning sun, delicately plucking bits of down from her new grownup feathers. The patch of color on her wing appears to be lavender instead of the typical navy blue. I'm not sure if this is because of her age or if she is just flashy... ;) (It appeared that way in person as well and she was the only one in the group with that hue.)

One benefit of the longer lens... I didn't scare them away from shore. It was nice to observe them while they went through their morning routine. All that was missing was a cup of coffee. Next time, I'll remember that vital addition. :)