The beautiful gadwall

The beautiful lady gadwall. Photographed October 3, 2010 in Toronto's High Park.

Gadwalls visit the pond where I live during the migration season. They are wary of people. Their feather patterns are just amazing. Let me introduce you to a gadwall lady I recently met.

The indescribable beauty of white ducks

They stand out from the crowd with their pristine plumage and bright orange accessories (bill, feet). They are like little angels. Here's my visual ode to the white Pekin duck. Aren't they lovely?

These Pekins live in an enclosure at the little zoo in High Park, Toronto. They are only available sporadically throughout the summer, and in winter they live in a duck house where no visitors are allowed. I miss them during the winter months and look forward to seeing them each summer.

A lovely couple having a stroll in the park

Nothing brings me as much joy as meeting a lovely couple out for their morning constitutional!

Brownie and Greenie spend all their time together

In four years of observing these two "manky" mallards, or wild domestic ducks, I've never seen them apart. They swim together, eat together, chase the smaller wild mallards together, and sleep just a few feet apart, in the same position. The love between Brownie and Greenie is so powerful it draws onlookers who don't even know their backstory, who glimpse them for the first time as they walk through Toronto's High Park.

Sam, my funnyface mallard boy

Sam has a hookbill, but that hasn't stopped him from being a feisty duck. I have noticed however that he does have problems finding a lady friend come spring time. Poor Sam! You'll note that the top photo shows him molting, i.e. he can't fly during this period when his green head feathers change over to brown for the summer months.

Greenie and Brownie, Inseparable Ducks

They are best friends and lovers, and yes, they are both male.

See my flickr set called "Ducky and Family" for thousands more photos of Greenie and Brownie together.

Greenie my boy, a bibbed flightless domestic mallard

I don't know how Greenie ended up in a large urban park when clearly he's a farm duck. Nevertheless, along with Brownie he's lived here a long time, and it's his home. I am honoured to be his human friend.

Ducky, the Pekin Duck that started it all