Pairing up

I was surprised to see lots of mallard action on the Cuddy today.  But my research tell me that they do indeed start pairing up in autumn and early winter.

Like most ducks they are seasonally monogamous*, forming a pair for 6 months or so.  

* well not entirely -  'Male Mallards often force "extra-pair copulations", where they chase and mate with females other than their mates. '

Hope that interesting...more than knowing what I had for lunch i hope :-)