Mallards can stay through winter in Minnesota if they can find food near open water. Now that the solid shore-to-shore ice on the pond is melting, a pair showed up here. This is probably the same pair that nested near the pond last year, since Mallards are known to 'home' where they have nested previously.
Even though a fractured layer of ice floats nearby, these ducks find food beneath the water. This might be what is known as a 'cold lunch'.
