Pochard Ducks

A shot of Mr Pochard, who's not long taken off, as you can see from the water covering his feathers, and the droplets still on his underside. The male has quite lovely pale grey and black plumage on his body, that almost looks like a terribly subtle houndstooth check (if such a thing is possible).  I do like his beady red eye, and the beak that looks as if some of the black top coat has worn off, leaving the paler blue grey undercoat on display.

I've added a photo of his other half, Mrs Pochard, who is a much less flamboyant looking creature at first sight, although there are some nice subtle variations in her plumage too.  Its interesting that with these ducks ,as with many other bird species where the male has to try hard to attract his mate, the female is the dowdier of the two, as she's the one getting to choose.