Have you ever noticed that in every park you go to in Leeds, Golden Acre, Roundhay Park, Middleton Park, etc – if there is a water feature or lake you find Ducks swimming about, sitting down pruning their feathers, waddling along leaving deposits or flying off over the water as you get near to them. A lot of people like myself have spent many a day taking their children to the park to feed the ducks bread crumbs, this is the type of activity can keep kids occupied making the trip last for ages and for children this can be one of the highlights of their day.
But have you ever thought, what types of ducks live in Miggy Park or why are some different from others. In Miggy Park you have the Mallard Duck. The Mallard is found around the world in places like North America, Asia, Europe and New Zealand. This water fowl is found in small ponds, wetlands and rivers.
The Mallard is a dabbling duck, which means it prefers to feed from on the surface of the water eating aquatic vegetation and insets. The male is known as the Drake with its distinctive green head with a yellowish orange bill, while the female has a light brown coat, dark brown bill. When pairs mate they stay together until the female lays her eggs, soon after the male will leave. I can think of some humans that do this.
The next time you go down in to Miggy Woods with the kids take some bread and pay some special attention to the ducks and try recognise the differences, the couples and observe their mannerisms – Quack Quack.
Win a Prize
Do you take your child to Miggy Woods? If so, next time go to see the Ducks and then ask your child to draw a picture of a Duck, take a picture of it and email it to us and the best picture will receive prize – good luck. The closing date for entries is 31st May.
This article was written by St Clair Brown using our Community Reporters website
