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If someone at a park is feeding ducks, chances are there are Mallards in the fray. Perhaps the most familiar of all ducks, Mallards occur throughout North America and Eurasia in ponds and parks, as well as wilder wetlands. The male has a gleaming green head, brown chest, and black tail making it the most easily identified duck. The female and immatures are all brown. The iconic duck "quack" is the sound of a female Mallard (the males don't quack). Mallards have long been hunted for the table and almost all domestic ducks descend from this species, including the familiar white domestic duck. The widespread Mallard has given rise to a number of populations around the world that have changed enough that they could be considered separate species. The "Mexican Duck" of central Mexico and the extreme southwestern U.S. and the Hawaiian Duck both are closely related to the Mallard. The Mexican Duck currently is considered a subspecies of the Mallard, while the Hawaiian Duck is still given full species status. Mallards are "dabbling" ducks, meaning they feed in the water by tipping forward and grazing on underwater plants. Mallards can live in almost any wetland habitat, natural or artificial. Mallards are the ducks that appear at Four Seasons in our artificial ponds, in the pools (where fake alligators are used to scare them away!), walking on lawns, and as fly overs (as during the Bird Club's Jan. 6 bird walk). ~ Steve Edelman Birding CLUB Bird of the Month FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | FEBRUARY 2018 57 Mallard Pair • Photo by Richard Bartz The Four Seasons Birding Club welcomes beginning and experienced birders to start or hone bird identification skills. The club's main activity is a monthly bird walk along Four Seasons' beautiful nature trails, which follow native riparian woodlands. We also take field trips to local birding hot spots, discuss backyard bird feeding, and share information on unusual species and behaviors. By the time we returned to the Lodge from our Jan. 6 bird walk, we had identified 20 species, tying the previous record. A highlight was a fly over flock of Mallards (our February Bird of the Month). We had breakfast at Smitty's, and after breakfast, two club members spied a pair of Western Bluebirds in the parking area, which made for a total of 21 species, a new record! The club keeps track of all bird sightings at Four Seasons and we compile our observations on a bird list. To date, we have documented 65 bird species at Four Seasons! The Four Seasons Birding Club meets on the first Saturday of each month at 8 am in the Lodge RCN lobby, talk about birding, and then we go on our bird walk directly from the Lodge (good exercise). Bring your binoculars or just come to a meeting and ask about birding gear. Sometimes our schedule changes, so before coming to a meeting and to receive club communications, email Steve Edelman at steve.h.edelman@gmail. com. ~ Steve Edelman

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