Duck match: is it Honey?

March 22, 2019 • 7:33 am

I’ve been feeding the newly-arrived ducks at Botany Pond: the mallards have now been here two days.  They are definitely skittish and didn’t come to my whistle, which was one indication that these were not Honey and James. But when I step back from the pond, they do eat copiously, and they look to be in good shape (see below).

The female has started nesting on the third floor of the adjacent building, which means that if she doesn’t abandon her nest, the ducklings will have to drop three stories on the day they hatch (this is normal and doesn’t hurt them). Hatching is expected in about a month.

Anna went to the pond yesterday and, after a long-distance inspection, she wasn’t so sure that the hen wasn’t Honey. So I’ll ask readers to weigh in pending better pictures of her beak markings. It does seem clear from the photos, though, that the drake isn’t James. He’s still a big and handsome boy, though.

They were tamer yesterday than when they arrived on Wednesday, and came out of the water to eat my duck chow (I still have about 15 pounds) on the grass:

A video of them nomming duck food on the grass. They look pretty healthy.

Here is the hen with shots of the left and right side of her bill. Below I’ve put closeup R and L shots of Honey’s bill from last year and this year. (The full-duck photos are a bit out of focus because it was dark and shutter speed was low.)

And here are shots of Honey’s bill from last year. At first I thought the new hen didn’t match the patterns at all (they do change from year to year), but now I’m not so sure. The black triangle on the right bill, where the bill meets the head, used to be my diagnostic trait. And it seems to be present in the new duck, as does the pattern of dark dots on the left side.  But of course I have confirmation bias, so I want it to be her.

Last year, right side:

This year’s hen, right side, enlarged (remember, the patterns change so perfect matches aren’t expected):

Last year, left side:

Last year’s bill, left side, enlarged;

This year’s hen, left side, enlarged:

What say you? Do you think it’s her?

Here’s the lovely drake, who will need a name (suggest one, please). He’s clearly not James, as the color of his breast is completely different.

New drake:

New Drake, shot #2:

New drake, shot #3:

James Pond from last year. Sadly, he’s apparently not the same drake as the new one has a much lighter breast. I guess the romance fizzled down on the bayou:

Is it her? Is it her? Remember, she’s more skittish than she was last year, and didn’t recognize my whistle.

65 thoughts on “Duck match: is it Honey?”

  1. Looks like her to my admittedly amateur eye.

    Ducks are smart. Perhaps the long-term solution is an associative trigger; come up with some unobvious act you do (consistently) to accompany giving out food. Then next spring when the ducks come back, do the act without food and see if the hen responds. Then you’ll know.

  2. Most likely it is the same. Should probably get an expert in duck identification to look at your photos.

          1. USGS SITE:

            Because banding birds requires capturing the birds and handling them before the banding takes place, the banding of birds in the United States is controlled under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and requires a federal banding permit. Some states require a state permit as well. Only official federal bands can be legally placed on birds that are released to the wild within the United States.

            Banders are a select group. Master Banders include federal and state agencies, university researchers, bird observatories, and private individuals. Waterfowl are banded only by federal and state agencies. Private individuals are not normally allowed to band waterfowl as the banding information is used to set harvest regulations.

            Persons who want to apply for a banding permit must be able to show that they are qualified to safely trap, handle, and band the birds. The applicant is responsible for acquiring all training; none is provided by the Bird Banding Laboratory. Some potential banders learn in an apprenticeship program, working one-on-one with an active bander. Others learn by visiting bird observatories or banding groups. Still others take courses in banding and handling birds.

          2. The best way I can think of to ID a duck would be to entice it to walk across a small patch of wet mortar or clay. You’d be looking for any crease, fold, or other marking or pattern of marks that would be unique. A bit like finger prints.

          4. Yes, you should try to involve the authorities. Booking a duck can take considerable skill, so as not to cause stress.

          1. Nowt to do with me! Jerry was splashing in a puddle with his new orange feet & some photographers rolled up – they shouted “smile for the paparazzi Jerry! And of course Jerry obliged thinking he had struck a deal for a fancy Italian delicacy in exchange for a snap – he was sorely disappointed.

        2. This is how Chuck Berry got the duck walk idea when Jerry went back in time in the DeLorean.

    2. Yes, that’s what I think too. The pale-breasted duck from last year. That’s a very unusual coloration for a mallard, so unusual that the probability of getting two different such ducks in two consecutive years is very remote (p^2 where p is a small number, so squaring it is a very small number indeed). In an earlier post I mentioned I thought this might be Billzebub th edemon duck, but I had misremmebered which of the interlopers last year had a pale breast. I looked up last year’s photos and realized that Frank was the pale-breasted interloper.

  4. In general terms the bills look the same to me. The dark splurges are in the same places and generally the same shape, although Honey’s dark patches are much more sharply defined.

    The only problem is that I have just done an image search for “female mallard” on Google, and I think I could say the same for a lot of the results.

    I think thew only way you are going to resolve this is to do a double blind test. Get somebody to download a load of images from the internet, mix them up with known images of Honey, photoshop out the backgrounds and see if you can reliably pick out the pictures of Honey.

  5. If you look at last year’s and imagine the black dots mostly growing and merging together you get this year’s more or less.
    Some features are still clearly there too – on the LHS of the beak there is a broad diagonal band that is almost exactly the same and the little mark at the bottom (looks like a reversed GB & Ireland) is still there.

  6. I do not think it’s Honey, sorry. On the right part of her bill, near the face, Honey has a funny S pattern made of small dots and I can’t see it on the new girl’s bill.

  7. Name him “Everybody” so that when you call him you would say “Hey Everybody duck” and then everybody would duck.

  10. If the new drake is not James at least you doubt it, you could call him Thomas, doubting Thomas or Sir Francis DRAKE

  11. The question is: how do the markings tend to change from year to year? Are there any invariant markings?

    My (brief) search on google comes up with identifying different types of duck by sight, but nothing meaningful about differentiating individuals within other than if the individual has been banded (5 minutes was my available time, but sufficient for me to conclude that I am unlikely to find the specific information I am looking for without a lot of luck or knowledge I do not have to revise the search)

  12. not Honey.

    The eye shape / size gives me a different feeling – last year pics seem sterner, shaper – this year, sharp, but more docile? The point is they look different.

    1. The nostrils definitely look different. NewDuck has nostrils that tip downward a bit, like eyes looking downward.

  15. Given the differences in the bill markings and the fact she does not respond to your whistle, I will say she is NOT Honey. She is an interloper. Shoo her away.

    1. Also, Honey’s eyes are further forward than the interloper’s. Honey won’t be happy if the interloper is still around when she returns.

  16. One way to test all this is to introduce a kind of negative control. Go to other ponds in the area (on campus or area parks), and photograph hens there who are surely not Honey. Let’s see if they can be shown to not be Honey.

  18. Looks to me like it could be the same as Honey 2018 (though I’ve gotta admit I was never a hundred percent on Honey 2018 being the same as Honey 2017).

    That little hussy of a hen sure seems to go through mates like a Liz Taylor or Zsa Zsa Gabor. 🙂

    1. Yes, I am mistaken. It was another duck that PCC(E) thought might be Honey, but the other duck had a deformed foot.

  21. Did anyone else see the fish in Photo #1?

    His name is “Spot.” “Spot, the fish.”

  22. I think these are different ducks. Equally magnificent, but different. Are there any behavioral traits that suggest they are the same?

  24. Why are you looking for Honey? Maybe some of her offspring is back, and Honey will have grandchildren growing up in your pond!

    1. Because I love that damn duck and have helped her with her babies for two straight years. And she knows me. Sadly, I don’t know if the hen is one of her offspring.

      1. I didn’t want to belittle your love for Honey but invite you to appreciate the new miracle that may have found its way into your pond and into Anna’s and your loving care. A new generation may be hatching, growing, thriving and fledging once more.

        Animals don’t quite return love the way humans do, yet *all is well*.

  25. It would be helpful to see any photos from 2017 . With three examples you might see a consistent pattern. Or not.

  26. The dark bit at the corner of the mouth, where the bill joins the head, seems distinctly different to me. I say not Honey.

  28. I’ve read that the brilliance of the drake mallard’s yellow bill is indicative of his sperm count. If so, this drake looks like a keeper.

  29. Can we request some photos from spring last year? I seem to remember Honey’s beak was less mottled and more of a solid black when she came back last year vs when she left. Just like this duck.

    -Ryan

  30. Probably a bit late to the naming game but I’d go for Nathan. From Playstation’s Drake’s Fortune.Nathan supposedly related to Sir Francis Drake. Just a thought.

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