Land of Sky Blue Waters
As I have mentioned before, these blue-flagged feathers are not really blue. They have micro-structures on the barbs that reflect only blue light. I had to turn this composition around and around until the light hit it just-so in order to make the blue pop. It’s easy to understand why blue would be a good color for a wading duck in the land of sky blue waters*.
mallard duck feathers
*My dad worked for Hamm’s brewery all of his adult life. Bonus points to anyone who read “land of sky blue waters” to the tune of the famous Hamm’s beer jingle.
Amazing (the feathers, not the Hamm’s jingle ;)
The natural world is endlessly incredible and astounding, isn’t it? Thanks for turning in circles to get it just right!
That’s one of the things I love about your site: you take things we all see everyday without a thought or second glance & make them special with some little detail we didn’t notice or some fact about how nature & function are so intertwined. And then, they are all just beautiful!
P.S. I’ve lived in the Chicagoland area all my life & definitely remember the Hamm’s jingle from my childhood . . .