My Fine Feathered Friends

I have been living in a new apartment complex since May, which has the same man-made ponds throughout as my last apartment complex. Since moving in, I have befriended some of the local duck regulars by feeding them periodically. After the first few times I gave them some bread, they started recognizing me. When I’d pull into my parking space after arriving home from work, they would quickly waddle over to my car. It was so adorable. I was surprised how quickly they started that behavior, after only two or three feedings. I guess birds are smarter than I realized.

There is one particular pair of ducks that I am quite fond of. They are a male duo that hang out together. I like to think of them as brothers. I have never really liked mallards that much. I don’t find them that attractive physically and they seem to be such jerks as well. The duo with which I have become buddies are not mallards, although I have no idea what kind of duck they are. They are larger than mallards and do not have the characteristic green head with a white band around their necks either. They instead have this really cute coloring where they have white chests with brown feathers mixed in with the white. They seem to be the only two of their species around here, so they hang out with the mallards, but I try to make sure they get more food than the others. I got some pictures of the boys the other day, which I have posted here.

There is also a mallard family that has some babies, which are cute despite my dislike of mallards. I have been unable to get any pictures of them because it’s always dusk when they show up. I’ve tried taking pictures, but they come out too dark or too washed out when I turn the flash on. There is also a goose couple that’s been hanging around for weeks with their babies. I have been able to get some good photos of the goose family, which I have posted here.