Blue-headed Mallard

We came upon this lone mallard on Sunday. Not only was it alone, it seemed lonely. How could we surmise such a thing? We completely anthropomorphized, that's how! Actually, it was quite unenthusiastically moving around in circles in the reservoir. I was hoping that it was just taking a little time away from the nest, and that Mrs. Mallard was tending to the eggs. I photographed it from quite a distance. There was something about it that just seemed different or odd.

When I downloaded pics, I saw this mallard had a distinctly dark blue head. It was quite beautiful, but also not the color of male mallards we are all accustomed to seeing. I read a little about why this bird's head might be blue, and one answer said that it could be a young male with not quite enough testosterone.

Well, that might explain some of the loneliness. I'm really glad I took its photo. Google has quite a few good photos if you want to see some excellent close-ups.