Weird wild duckling

[KelC0308]

Can't wait to see more pics of Trouble! He made it so far!

 

[desertdarlene]

It's Getting harder and harder for me to distinguish him from the other ducks. One thing he does is let me get extremely close to him or he comes very close to me. If I sit down he will sorta sit next to me. That's one way I can recognize him. He's also the youngest looking. But, he's within a normal size range now for a young mallard, but smaller than average.

 

[desertdarlene]

I'm now not sure if that duck I posted about last time was really Trouble because I found this little fuzz-butt this morning. His speculums are turning greenish in certain light. And, his primaries are not quite the right color for a mallard, either. I'm really sorry that the camera didn't pick up the green in his feathers. It's really noticeable at certain angles. I should have little trouble distinguishing him from the other ducks if his wings continue to have that greenish tone on them.

Here are today's pictures:

Such a weird shaped duck.




Stretching that wing out. The colors of his primaries are still a little off from other mallards. The little light areas on the speculums are the ones that turn noticeably green.




This is where his speculums looked very green and it shows up on my camera, but not on my computer.



Here is a close up of his wing in bright light. The shiny areas are actually green at a certain angle. I just couldn't capture it on camera.



It could just be a weird fluke and he could just be a runty mallard with slightly odd coloration. His brothers are getting their big-boy feathers now and have white-ish bellies in prep for getting their gray mallard feathers.

This may be the duck I found last time, not much bigger than Trouble and stretching his wing, too. His speculums are a solid dark blue:

 

[desertdarlene]

Here's an update. From this angle, the speculums look blue green. But, a lot of other ducks could be seen with some greenish tone on their wings today, just not as bright. Again, I wish the camera would pick up the green better.




Here he is walking towards me. Still has lots of fuzz and weird feathers. The speculums look blue here.



I'm wondering if he's dealing with parasites and is pulling at his feathers making them fuzzy like this. Also, I *think* he has some flying ability, though I'm not sure. He sure can disappear in the blink of an eye. Still small, but not extremely small.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Here's an update. From this angle, the speculums look blue green. But, a lot of other ducks could be seen with some greenish tone on their wings today, just not as bright. Again, I wish the camera would pick up the green better.




Here he is walking towards me. Still has lots of fuzz and weird feathers. The speculums look blue here.



I'm wondering if he's dealing with parasites and is pulling at his feathers making them fuzzy like this. Also, I *think* he has some flying ability, though I'm not sure. He sure can disappear in the blink of an eye. Still small, but not extremely small.

He's a beautiful duck.

 

[desertdarlene]

Thanks! We had another duck, Baby Blue, that looked scruffy like that for a long time. Now, he looks very beautiful. So, I'm hoping the same will happen to him.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks! We had another duck, Baby Blue, that looked scruffy like that for a long time. Now, he looks very beautiful. So, I'm hoping the same will happen to him.

I remember him and he sure did turn out beautiful, is he still there?

 

[desertdarlene]

Yes, he's still there and has gotten pretty big, too. But, early this morning, his very first girlfriend drowned when her head got stuck in some rocks while she was foraging under water. But, he's already working on getting another one.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yes, he's still there and has gotten pretty big, too. But, early this morning, his very first girlfriend drowned when her head got stuck in some rocks while she was foraging under water. But, he's already working on getting another one.

Aww that's sad, how did you know that's how she died? Well they don't mourn long do they? lol

 

[desertdarlene]

I found her body and can see her bill under water stuck between the rocks. It was only a few inches deep. Her body was floating on her back with her neck and head underwater like when they dabble. I'm betting she was foraging in the dark and a rock moved or fell on her bill, trapping her. It looked like she put up a fight, but couldn't free herself.

I'm betting Blue doesn't realize that she's not going to be interacting with him anymore. Right now, in his mind, she's still there, just not following him around or moving. I think it will hit him later on when her body is gone.