In my many walks at local parks, I’ve come to realize that ducks, in general, are a happy bunch. Just look at this header image. Don’t you agree that our fine feathered friends pictured above are either enjoying a good joke, or, perhaps these Mallards were hopeful their human friend, a man who threw them a handful of potato chips from where he sat on a nearby park bench, would reach into that bag again if they gave him a big smile?
What a tranquil scene …
It was a peaceful early morning and the venue was Ford Field Park in Dearborn. I stopped briefly at this pond to check out the ducks as they placidly paddled along without a care in the world, blessedly oblivious to the trials and tribulations we humans are dealing with as 2020 rolls on. Their world is paddling, dabbling, waddling, preening and bathing … good stuff.
And then bliss turned to bullying – bigtime!
But soon I discovered that these seemingly companionable Mallards were just as fickle as we humans sometimes, when a bully duck waddled over and poked another duck in the side, for no apparent reason that I could discern. I witnessed the altercation through the camera lens. “Stop that!!” I cried out (as if Mr./Ms. Meany was going to listen to me, a mere mortal), but that jab was downright mean and seemingly unprovoked!
Of course I could not referee, only observe, when they butted heads moments later. I continued to watch, clicking the shutter, while feeling helpless to intervene.
So what was the outcome?
Was the fight nasty, a visual I should think twice about sharing here in my feel-good forum of fun nature pics and tranquil settings? Nope, not at all. Within minutes they were fast friends as they waddled off lockstep to the pond. Go figure.
Well, if only if we humans could get along as easily after a disagreement.
After the “peaceful pond” I wandered around Ford Field afterward.
This park is not overly large, but it is an enjoyable trek through a forested area that is not too dense. I walked along the Rouge River shoreline and admired this huge Willow tree.
There are many Willow trees around this park. Here’s another one near a short footbridge.
But the most-enjoyable part of my trek was crossing over this covered bridge …
… where I could gaze at the Rouge River as it rippled and roiled over the rocks below.
This covered bridge offers a picturesque setting …
… so I guess that is why so many folks chose to make their proclamations of love at this site where they will remain engraved or painted on the trusses and railings for eternity (or until the bridge is replaced).
I walked about three miles at this park as I went on to participate in the virtual Mutt Strut 5K thereafter, an event that benefits the “Friends of Animals of Metro Detroit” and I will write about that trek in a future post.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Yes, the life of a duck seems so simple and fun. Everyday is relaxing, until that one duck in the crowd wants to start something. 🙂 there is always that one. I love the covered bridge and willow trees. Just beautiful, gorgeous park.
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Ducks seem perpetually happy to me Sandra, especially with their beaks open like this. I’ve seen a duck or a goose go ballistic (more so geese) where they just take a notion to go off on the others. Just like this time – it made no sense. I like the covered bridge too – very picturesque. The willow tree reminds me of the one I wrote about a month or so ago from my youth.
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I love the second duck picture, a perfect portrait! How interesting that the squabbling ducks recovered from their spat so quickly, without a lingering grudge. I agree with you, if only people could get along as easily after such a heated difference of opinion. The willow trees are very graceful and the covered bridge is fascinating with the separated walkways on either side of the roadway. I’ve never seen one like that before. Thanks for sharing this lovely outing. ❦
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I think that duck was posing for me Barbara. It gave me enough time to take a photo, then was on its way. 🙂 This was just a little pond, and maybe a dozen ducks, so very peaceful when I got there. I often see a duck or a goose all of a sudden take a notion to bully the others. Usually a goose, as they are such drama queens sometimes, but this came out of nowhere. They recovered – no ill feelings.
I wrote a post about a willow tree before you followed me. It is in a park here in the City where I used to go when we first moved to the States in 1966. All us kids used to sit under that tree, as did generations of kids after me at that playground/park. It split in two after a windstorm this Summer. It had Carpenter ants – they were running all over. The City has removed the branches, but I keep returning to see if they took it down completely – no, not yet. The remaining half is fine and the leaves are green, not dead. It was as large as these willows. So I guess forevermore it will remain like that.
This is a nice park and I learned of it last year when I participated in a 5K walk for the welfare of shelter pets. The “Mutt Strut” originated in this park, then went through a neighborhood and into another park and past the Henry and Clara Ford Estate. Essentially I discovered two parks and the Estate that day. I participated again this year in September, but it was a virtual 5K and I returned to the same place, retraced my route. I will be writing about that 5K walk – I just got my teeshirt in the mail and will take a photo of it. I’m glad you enjoyed the post … the roadway under the bridge is not for cars – it is narrow and the cement structure in front is to prohibit someone from driving over the bridge from the parking lot.
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I enjoyed the duck walk. I’m glad you saw a peaceful end to the duck squabble.
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Glad you enjoyed it Anne. This was the incident I mentioned to you a while ago. The feathers didn’t even get a chance to fly before they were friends again. Agreed to disagree I guess.
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The ducks are cute. I have to admit that they charm me every time. I like willow trees. There is a grace to them that I find soothing.
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I thought so too Ally – the smiling ducks made ME smile. I like Willows too. I went back to look at the Willow in the park I went as a child that split in two after a windstorm this Summer. It remains just half a tree, but is green and not dead, so I guess the City decided it should remain there.
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What a quaint bridge. I think I could sit beside that river all afternoon. 🙂
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It sure is picturesque Rebecca. Just to sit and listen to the river going over the rocks – how peaceful.
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Love the covered bridge!
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I know – it is so picturesque and the water racing beneath it as well.
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Here in Pennsylvania we have a lot of covered bridges. People like to get married on them.
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After I saw the movie “The Bridges of Madison County” I wanted to see one. The bridges at this park and Heritage Park are more ornamental as cars can’t go over them. At Heritage Park, people have wedding, prom and homecoming pictures taken on them. That would be different getting married on one.
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Most if not all of our covered bridges are blocked for traffic as they are no longer safe. Funny story — step-daughter wanted to get married at one of them. She chose a day in mid-April that just happened to be opening trout season. The area would have been packed with fishermen. Fortunately I knew that and she moved her location.
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That’s funny – she’d have been photobombed by trout fisherman for sure. If the opening trout season is anything like opening silver bass season here, the fishermen can walk from boat to boat – they are that close together fishing on the Detroit River..
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They fish for trout from the river and creek banks and the covered bridges. She may have had a bigger wedding party!
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I worked with a girl whose fiance liked deer hunting. Deer hunting season begins November 15th in Michigan so a lot of guys take time off work to go up north on the 15th or the first weekend after the 15th. I guess this couple didn’t know each other too long because she was making preliminary plans and suggested the date – he was aghast and told her “it’s deer huntin’ season – what were you thinking? None of my friends will be there – I won’t be there either!” Hmm, I don’t know if I would have repeated that story. 🙂
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Ducks can be very violent!
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I’ve seen them go ballistic in the water sometimes by traveling over the surface of the water and trying to knock others down in their path, but this was the first encounter on land. They had been best buds, just a minute earlier. Go figure!
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usually animals fight over one or two things….food or mating. Coming into your winter I can’t see It’s mating/nesting,so must of been food related?……..or it kept changing the channel from Bugs Bunny to Duck porn
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I figured it was too late for mating season too and it was the tail end of molting as neither looked worse for the wear. I am not sure if it was two males or two females. At the end of molting, the males and females look alike – they have what’s called “eclipse plumage” before the males get the usual teal head, white neck band etc. That’s why I had to put two ducks … I couldn’t ID them … the little bugger!!
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I didn’t know the males lost their head colouring?
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Yes, all of it … they molt and lose their colorful plumage. Then go to eclipse phase and eventually the teal head and white neck band will return … I was at Heritage Park earlier this year … there are two pictures of a Drake molting … see his head feathers in pictures 5 and 6 from the top:
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I can still clearly see the green head. So your saying the males looses the green completely?
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Yes, just temporarily during the molt. He was not done molting yet – he was quite scraggly looking. They replace every single feather on their body.
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there is also the Drake curl
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Oh yes – I forgot about that. When I took that interpretive boat trip to see eagle nests a few years ago, we came upon a huge group of Mallards … all brown plumage and looked alike. The guide explained they were in eclipse phase, can’t tell them apart except for the Drake curl, but they lose the curl during molting so he said “it’s anyone’s guess until they open their mouth.” He said “ladies please don’t get offended but the hens squawk louder than the drakes” so you can tell them apart that way too. That link I sent you, the poor drake has really mottled feathers.
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so the females scream louder eh,….must be genetic!
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Miss Linda……………………………………..I enjoyed your descriptive words: “.paddling, dabbling, waddling, preening, and bathing”………………………..your so good………………….I was aghast on seeing the ducks under attack……………………….I’ve never seen that before……………………………I was never at Ford Field Park
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Thanks Ann Marie – I looked at the pictures and decided those words best described what the ducks were doing. I also was aghast at that one duck when he jabbed that beak full force into the other duck’s side. Then head butting like a couple of goats! Such bad manners,! Ford Field is just off Michigan Avenue, between Monroe Street and Cherry Hill. It is easier to go Monroe as Cherry Hill is busy. It is not a large park where I was, in the wooded area and the pond with the ducks. On the other side it is a huge field which would be used for sports. It is where our Mutt Strut 5K originated last year – I had never been there before then.
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What a beautiful day Linda! I have seen a lot of ducks in my life but I have NEVER seen them fight!
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It was really enjoyable Diane and I’ve never seen them fight like that either. Sometimes a duck in the water comes in for a landing in the middle of the others and they get mad, but they just flap their wings and it’s over. This was really odd.
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Hello LInda.
You live in a paradise, but not in that one, as we traditionally think. I do love your photos. Thank you.
Happy Sunday!
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Thank you Matti – glad you enjoyed the photos. Tomorrow will be a post about Lake Erie Metropark, one of my favorite locales.
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I have never seen ducks fight like that – oh my and love your play on words – with peaceful pond! hahahah
wonderful nature post again – 🙂
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I haven’t either – usually companionable but not this time. Glad you liked this nature post Yvette.
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😊🦆🦆🦆
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Wow beautiful walk ! That bridge! Wow
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It was nice – early in the morning and peaceful Michael. I love these covered bridges … so picturesque!
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Ducks doo look like happy-go-lucky beings most of the time. Have you ever seen them in the spring when it’s mating season? Those poor females are harassed and bullied to no end. The pair you pictured looks like a young male and female. Maybe it was some kind of pair-bonding exercise.
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Yes, the open beak, looking like they are smiling, makes it seem they have not a care in the world. I’ve not seen the ducks in mating season, but I’ve seen the geese. I’ve seen a few male geese fighting one another for a female and a couple of times I’ve seen the female make a beeline to get away. 🙂 It was difficult for me to tell if it was male/female here as they were all in eclipse phase so every duck was the same drab brown color. The distinction in this phase is that bright blue side feather (female).
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Beautiful photos, Linda! I’ve never seen ducks fight like that before, but two of the bunnies visiting our garden got into it with each other a few days ago. Peaceful parks are always a life saver, but especially now.
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Thanks Sabine – I am glad you liked them. I’ve never seen ducks fighting like that, on land especially. I will see when one male sometimes gets an attitude and flies out of the water in a huff making a big splash, or flies down into the middle of a group of ducks and they all fly off to avoid him/her, but that is not often. This duck was a bit of an oddity. I am grateful for walking and the parks as it’s really good to get away from everything and just be in a peaceful place for a few hours.
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Same here with the parks for walking and just clearing my head. Stay safe and happy! 🙋♀️
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You do the same Sabine!
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Linda, those duck pictures are priceless…..you always catch them at the exact right time….the first one where they look like they are laughing, and the two walking step in step! Looks like you had a great day out.
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Glad you liked these pictures Joni. I liked seeing ducks looking like they are laughing and yes, I was lucky to catch them on camera having a private joke. 🙂 Maybe they were laughing at me! The little tiff they had was over really quickly – maybe they forgot what they were fighting about, so just abandoned the fight. It was a good morning out and after that I went to the other side of this park to do the virtual Mutt Strut. I returned there since this was where we did it in 2019. I am hoping to do that post on Friday. I was waiting on the tee-shirt to arrive which it did last week. Then I hope to transition to some Fall posts – I’ve not looked at the photos, as I’ve not taken them off the photo card yet.
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Thanks for the Thanksgiving e-card Linda! Very cute! Raining out now….worked on a blog today and hope to get one done tomorrow too…
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Glad you liked it Joni – you will be ahead thanks to the rain.
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Are you using a new filter on your lens, Linda? The water shots look amazing.
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Thanks Pam … it was a sunny day and no, I am not using a special filter but I thought the water looked kind of golden that morning. On the weekends if I go to bigger parks and on longer treks, I take the DSLR and it has a long lens (kit lens 75-300 mm) which is probably picking up more variations in the water than the digital compact which is my go-to camera that I use 75% of the time.
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🙌🙌🙌
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Funny that the fighting ducks soon became friendly again. Don’t you wonder what they were fighting about and what was resolved? The picture of the duck by the shore with the water ringed around him is gorgeous!
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I thought it was odd too Janis – first everything was calm and peaceful, then the two waddled onto land and the one picked on the other. Maybe they were cranky from the heat – it was a very warm morning. I’m glad you liked the photo of that duck … the water was so calm, that just gliding through the water sent the ripples and a good reflection.
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Linda – such a joyful thing to see your photos again. Oh, I just want to love on all those ducks. Those ducks giving each other a whatforin’! The covered bridge though is just picture-perfect, it brings back so many wonderful memories. My grandparents had a covered bridge in their back yard. We had the best time on that bridge. Thank you for all the loveliness. xo kim
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Those ducks were so peaceful, until the fight erupted and over in a heartbeat. It was so funny and I saw it from behind the lens. Kept clicking away. Oh, having a covered bridge in the backyard would be a wonderful memory for you. How lucky you were to be there. There is this bridge and the one at Heritage Park, also very lovely and picturesque. People come from miles away to have wedding, homecoming, prom pics – even engagement shots taken there as it crosses over Coan Lake with all the ducks. There are not enough hours in the day to simply just sit and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us is there Kim? Take care – continue to enjoy the little things for those are what make us smile the most. (I’d want to love on those little chicks in your photos!)
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I can understand why folks travel to have their Special photos Taken there, I would think especially now, being outside is so important. 😊
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That’s right Kim. Outside is important, just like getting along. 🙂
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