Finally Sun: Spring Fever With the Ducks

Sunshine and warmer weather bring renewed activity among mallards. While some ducks form pairs as early as autumn, migratory populations may begin courtship in spring.

Courtship and plumage

Several drakes may compete for the attention of a female. The males display their colorful plumage, posture, and wings during courtship. An adult mallard can reach roughly 60 centimeters in length, with a wingspan approaching 95 centimeters. Its dense covering of down and feathers provides insulation in cold weather.

Nesting and eggs

Mallards choose concealed nesting places near water. Depending on local conditions, a nest may be placed among shrubs or bank vegetation, or occasionally in an elevated hollow.

Breeding commonly begins in spring. The female usually lays one egg per day, and a large clutch may contain around 15 eggs. Incubation lasts approximately 25 to 28 days.

Ducklings on the water

Mallard ducklings are able to leave the nest and follow their mother to water soon after hatching. They can swim without being taught, but remain with their mother for roughly 50 to 60 days while learning to forage and avoid danger.

Potential predators include foxes, martens, rats, raccoons, and birds of prey.

What mallards eat

Mallards have a varied diet that includes aquatic plants, fruit, seeds, grain, and small animals such as insects, worms, snails, tadpoles, small fish, frogs, and crustaceans. They often feed by tipping forward in shallow water, leaving the tail above the surface while the head and neck reach below.

They may also forage in fields, where they eat grain, nuts, acorns, and other plant material.

A duck found around the world

Mallards thrive wherever suitable wetlands are available, including lakes, ponds, rivers, drainage channels, parks, and urban waterways. They occur across Europe, Asia, North America, North Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

Whether they migrate depends largely on climate. Mallards in colder regions are more likely to travel to milder wintering grounds, while those living where water and food remain available may stay throughout the year.

Mallards are social birds. In a group, their familiar calls help them remain in contact with one another.