A very mucky duck!
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No worry, it is sedimental mud (extremely fine!)
… an environment supporting lots of small crea-
tures that are in the scope of this hungry feather
wearer.
Dabblers scoop the mud and, with lateral motion
of the bill, filter out the goodies. If it was not good,
they wouldn't do it… with such appetite!
Swans and Geese do that too.
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Good shot!
OP
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Thanks Daniel, you may be right, however the following image was taken on the same pond the evening before.
It shows a Herring Gull that had a similar coloured adherence to its feathers, only much worse and it had clearly hardened and damaged the feathers, or the gull had pulled what he could out. He couldn't swim and at one point we thought he was going to drown as he went across the water but fortunately it was not too deep for him to walk through. However he was immobilised by whatever it was on his feathers and on returning the next morning he had been taken by a predator and his remains were left on the bank.
View attachment 103020
Cheers
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Oops, sorry Daniel, rectified that now
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•
Thanks, buddy!
Well, this guy certainly looks as miserable as it can get!
It looks, though, as this bird was the last in everything
and the least considered by its congeners… possibly too
old to play the game of life anymore. Very sad image.
Thanks, buddy!
Well, this guy certainly looks as miserable as it can get!
It looks, though, as this bird was the last in everything
and the least considered by its congeners… possibly too
old to play the game of life anymore. Very sad image.
OP
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No Daniel his feathers were coated, it looked almost like expanded foam, as he couldn't fly or swim on water he was a sitting 'duck' ... it was the feather coating that was his downfall.•
Thanks, buddy!
Well, this guy certainly looks as miserable as it can get!
It looks, though, as this bird was the last in everything
and the least considered by its congeners… possibly too
old to play the game of life anymore. Very sad image.
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Did you smell anything weird?
Did you see anything floating in/on the water?
Were other birds impaired in a similar way?
If this habitat is the living quarters of many species of
animals, then others should be affected as well.
All water birds have very strict discipline when it comes
to personal hygiene and they all spend a lot of time at
grooming.
I observed some birds that were bullied by their own and
other species and the victims all ended in similar ways.
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The gull could have picked up the substance anywhere before settling on the pond but I was concerned that the duck may have found the same source, wherever it might have been ... this was not a natural event.
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I did not witness the scene like you did so my
arguments and observations may have very
little value here… just thinking out loud.