It’s Never “Just a Mallard”

<p>Acouple of years ago my husband Andy and I went on a guided birding trip in Cape May. For non-birders, Cape May, at the southern tip of New Jersey, is one of the top birding sites on the east coast. It is a great bird flyway, with millions of warblers, songbirds, hawks, falcons, ducks, and seabirds migrating through in spring and fall. I normally bird on my own, occasionally with a much more knowledgeable friend, but Cape May seemed like a good place to go with a guide.</p> <p>We saw some wonderful birds, including my first killdeer! But what I remember most from the trip was the guide&rsquo;s reaction when someone in our group spotted a mallard. After a flurry of excitement occasioned by the flash of color on the drake&rsquo;s head, the person said, in a disappointed tone, &ldquo;oh, it&rsquo;s just a mallard.&rdquo; (Mallards are the most common ducks in our part of the world.)</p> <p><a href="https://medium.com/@slaughteram/its-never-just-a-mallard-what-birding-can-teach-us-about-winning-the-war-in-ukraine-d574af653eb1"><strong>Click Here</strong></a></p>
Tags: Mallard