#365daysofbiking Duck tales:

September 21st – The humble mallard duck doesn’t get much love, but I’ve always held that, like magpies, if you study them in any more than the most cursory fashion, they’re absolutely beautiful. The iridescent, shimmering greens of the males are lovely enough, but also the females are very much more than drab brown; if you study them, they have the most gorgeous blue and white flashes on their wings.

But better than appearance is their personality and social behaviour – here on the overflow in Brownhills near Silver Street, the ducks were in parliament doing what ducks do – sat in running water, dozing, chattering and generally being the best ducks they can ever be.

Such contented creatures.