Realistic duck taking flight from a pond with raised wings, water splash, reeds, trees, and hills

Mallard Lifting Off from the Pond

A duck springs from the pond with both wings spread high, leaving a bright splash between reeds, trees, and rolling hills.

Free to print for personal and classroom use. This coloring page is part of the Duck collection, made for ages 8–12 and drawn in a Realistic style.

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🎨 How to color it

Color the duck’s head deep mallard green, its chest warm chestnut, the pond water blue-gray, and the cattails sandy brown. Use sharp colored pencils for the many wing feathers, pulling each stroke from the base toward the pointed tips to keep them crisp. Try a pale sunrise gradient behind the raised wings so the white splash and rippled pond feel cool and fresh.

The story behind this coloring page

Nell’s Gift of First Ripples — Before the sun cleared the willow hill, a duck named Nell skimmed the pond, hunting for one smooth place to practice her quiet takeoff. Read the full story →

Before the sun cleared the willow hill, a duck named Nell skimmed the pond, hunting for one smooth place to practice her quiet takeoff. She wanted to leave the water without waking the cattails. The air smelled of wet grass, and every reed held a bead of silver light.

Then a voice rasped from the bank. “Just one drop?” A mud-cricket, dusty as a seed, crouched in a cracked hoofprint where the night dew had missed. Nell looked at the glassy pond, then at her perfect stillness. No heron watched. No duck cheered. She beat her wings once, hard, and kicked up a crown of cool water. The nearest drops jumped to the cricket. The rest ran in rings, farther and farther, carrying tiny drinks to the shore.

Ever since, when a duck rises from a pond, the water sends ripples outward before anyone asks. Next time you see Nell’s splash, can you spot where her quiet gift begins?