Third week of September - Long-awaited Mallard

I've had a terrible time trying to see a Mallard in Australia that is at all comparable to the wild-type birds I've seen in the northern hemisphere. Usually they are grotesque, pale and fat, and can usually be hand-fed. So, you can imagine my excitement when I saw this drake sitting on the grass at the southern end of Herdsman Lake. I'm ticking this one for my Herdsman Lake list (#110), and my Western Australian list (#366) too!

Mallard drake - a little messy, but note the green head, narrow white collar
uniform dull yellow bill, pale grey body with darker back

Overall, the abundance of ducks is pretty low, and the last of the Freckled Ducks have left, but the Australasian Shovelers, Grey Teal, Pacific Black, Blue-billed and Musk Ducks can still be easily seen.