"I'd say that both are hybrids. The male has more white in the tail feathers than pure Mottled should show, and neither have that dark mark at the gape (the base of the bill) that pure Mottled should show. You're right, Mottled Ducks in Florida are threatened by crossbreeding with introduced Mallards (they didn't use to nest that far south)." - per darknight
Walking the sidewalks in front of my house, man walking dog went right by and they weren't startled, crossing the street, walking right by groups of people with excited children gathered at their home, sitting comfortably even appears to be sleeping in front yards. Is this mating season habits or are these ducks just too tame? At dusk they headed back into the middle of the busy road, and took off from it like it was a airport runway. Odd behavior for a couple ducks isn't it? I wonder if this is the same two who were in my pool on mothers day messing around?
