Our duck, Jemima, having a rest on our lawn and posing for the camera:

K20D +FA*80-200 f2.8 @200mm & f4, 1/100sec, ISO100 handheld.

[heliphoto]

Nice shot! Great work getting the eye, bill, and the flower all nicely in that narrow DOF.

[Lance B]

Nice shot! Great work getting the eye, bill, and the flower all nicely in that narrow DOF.

Thank you for th mind words, Josh.

[Corros]

Great picture of your duck. Maybe a little bit smaller aperture (F8) and flash would have made this picture better.

Yep, she lays an egg everyday, mate. She must be very contented as they say these Pekin ducks should only lay about 200 per year and as we have had her for 9 months, she has already done her yearly allottment! I think that she will continue to lay for the full year everyday, which is quite unusual, apparently.

We use them for cooking in breadcrumbing, cakes, crepes and I poach them every few days for breakfast. The eggs are a tad bigger than a chicken egg, where a chicken egg may be 60-70grams, the duck egg may be 90-100grams

Thanks for the info Lance, you didn't say how they tasted and do you have to give Jemima a calcium supplement?

I have a theory, based on my experience with parrots. I believe ducks also are monogamous. Jemima is in love with you and is desperately trying to reproduce to please you. BTW, I'm not entirely joking, it's not beyond the realms of possibility.

Thanks for sharing

[Lance B]

Great picture of your duck. Maybe a little bit smaller aperture (F8) and flash would have made this picture better.

Thank you.

My purpose was for the extreme shallow DOF and I am not into flash.

[Lance B]

Thanks for the info Lance, you didn't say how they tasted and do you have to give Jemima a calcium supplement?

No calcium supplement except what she may(or ma not) get in snail shells and in her food that we buy. The food is called "layer pellets", so I am guessing it has added supplements for laying ducks and chickens.

I have a theory, based on my experience with parrots. I believe ducks also are monogamous. Jemima is in love with you and is desperately trying to reproduce to please you. BTW, I'm not entirely joking, it's not beyond the realms of possibility.

Thanks for sharing

Funny you should say this, what a coincidence!!! There was a vet talking on the radio today about how parrots can fall in love with their owners!!! What a coincidence you should bring it up as well!!

I then wondered if it could happen to ducks? May be you're right.

[gawan]

When saw you write "our duck" I expected something nice, or even very special, and I was right, this is both a great shot and so sweet by subject!

[Lance B]

When saw you write "our duck" I expected something nice, or even very special, and I was right, this is both a great shot and so sweet by subject!

Thak you very much, Georg. A very nice thing to say!

[Lance B]

Thanks for the info Lance, you didn't say how they tasted and do you have to give Jemima a calcium supplement?

Gary,

I forgot to add how Jemima's eggs tasted.

They have a bit stronger flavour than chicken eggs, but this is comparing them to shop bought chicken eggs rather than any "home grown" chicken eggs. I guess, to be fair, chicken eggs obtained from somebody's home chickens may have a better taste than shop purchased eggs, but I cannot comment on that as it is many many years since I have tried home grown chicken eggs.

When used in cooking, like cakes, crepes, pancakes etc, our duck eggs seem to impart a "better" flavour. The other day, we tried pancakes for breakfast and they were definitely nicer. They seemed fluffier and had a nicer flavour.

As for scrambled eggs, they are very nice! Poached or fried, they are just different with a stronger flavour - hard to describe.

Nice portrait and nice to see you here as I've learned quite a lot from your posts!

Funny you should say this, what a coincidence!!! There was a vet talking on the radio today about how parrots can fall in love with their owners!!! What a coincidence you should bring it up as well!!

I then wondered if it could happen to ducks? May be you're right.

I have a pet cockatoo (Little Corella) who is totally in love with me. It is also very nervous but you should see Cuddles run across the back of couch and attack my wife when she dares to sit next to me.

[Lance B]

Nice portrait and nice to see you here as I've learned quite a lot from your posts!

Thank you very much, Jeff. Your kind words are very much appreciated. I am glad that I have been able to help somebody!

[Lance B]

I have a pet cockatoo (Little Corella) who is totally in love with me. It is also very nervous but you should see Cuddles run across the back of couch and attack my wife when she dares to sit next to me.

This is what they were saying on the radio. The parrots can become *very* protective, so your wife needs to watch out as she now has competition!