Force Mating of Mallard

I was in Amsterdam attending an exhibition. Took some time to side track visiting a garden near the hotel I stay.

 Mallard is very common in this part of the world.

 They can be seen in garden, park...

Even in the canal right in the city center of Amsterdam!

This trip indeed an eye opener for me, I didn't know Mallard can mate in water!


Another thing that I'm not sure is if mating in water is only happening during force mating.

Mating Slaty-Breasted Rail

Although Slaty-Breasted Rail (Gallirallus striatus) are quite common, they are the very secretive birds that hardly out in the open. A slightest move can trigger the bird go into hiding in the thick vegetation.

Saw this two Slaty-Breasted Rail last week behave quite differently on the edge of the thick vegetation last week end. One bird try to "get close" to the other bird. I suspect that is the courtship move.

It seems that the bird on the right accepted the "offer" & guide the other bird to the other location

The bird on the left follow the other bird very closely.

And there it goes... the mating started!

It happens so fast that I don't have time to switch to video mode.  I just shoot it with sequential mode. More chicks in a months time?