Not content with quacking at me from the water below the boardwalk where I was standing, this very handsome male Mallard decided he would improve his chances of successfully begging for food by flying up and perching on the boardwalk’s handrail. First, he tried smiling at me – at least I think this is meant to be a smile …

When that didn’t work, he waddled carefully towards me and quacked very loudly …

Unfortunately for him, I didn’t have any food with me, but I did take the opportunity to take quite a lot of photos as he posed.