We've quite a few Mallards at work & I noticed before I had my hernia op that the males were gathering in groups. It could be while the females are looking for a nest site or making a nest & starting to lay.
Hopefully I'll be back in a couple of weeks if the Dr signs me off the sick next week. I don't know if I'll be round the lake to see what they are doing as it's along side the visitors centre & there are most bins there & heaviest work, bar winter & chipping branches from trees that have been felled. I generally only cover that area on my weekend on, one in three & two week days days every three weeks when the person whose responsibility it is has their mid week day off.
I cover 39% of the lodges & other areas, so walk 6 - 10 miles a day.
I've a FB friend who made a pond & put in an island for Mallards to nest on, they did but a fox raided it. He stocked the pond with Stickleback & now gets a wintering Kingfisher in his garden.

Well, we still have our two ducks. I reckon if they are still here at the weekend we better name them. Suggestions welcome

Chuck & Camilla? Frances & Drake? Euro & Visionista? Brian & May? Ducky & Fizz? Crispy & Orange?

I know this sounds stupid but I see a little mallard hybrid at the local brook every morning while waiting for the bus, l don't know why but I like to call him Geoffrey.

That doesn't sound stupid at all Snowy. I once knew of a dog called Richard. Thought it was a really cool name. I love daftness. There should be more daftness in the world.

No sign of of the ducks today. . . .

My pond is unlined so is more a wildlife wildflower pond, water levels can range from 1.2, to 100mm which is where it is at present with the tops section dry. We used to get a pair of Mallards however the pond is now overgrown with Bob Bean, Marsh Cinquefoil, Common Reed, Broad Leaved Pond Weed, Water Cress, Mash Marigold, Flag Iris & aquatic grasses, with Monkey Flower & mosses on the higher level, with Meadow Sweet round the edges, so there's little clear water.
I'll have to go in at some point & dig out some common Reed before it takes over. Blanket weed & Duck Weed are also a problem as I can't skim them off due to all the plants. The birds love the changing levels, my Tree Sparrows in particular as they look for insects & seeds.
If I has an area of clear water I'm sure ducks would be back.

(This post was last modified: 12-05-17, 07:53 PM by Osprey.)

Sounds good Red Kite it can sometimes be hard to get the balance right.
They don't come daftet than me Osprey lovely sheen on the mallards head, the pair look pretty content in your pond.

They definitely must like it here Snowy. After a full day absence yesterday they are both back this morning. My only slight concern is that she might make a nest and lay eggs. Not that I would mind lots of fluffy ducklings but I fear the eggs would be predated by the hedgehogs and rats.

That would be a worry Osprey. Every year our housing association have a duck make her nest in a hanging basket, when the ducks are ready to leave for the river someone walks with the ducks to get them safely over the busy roads.

Snowy Owl Wrote:Sounds good Red Kite it can sometimes be hard to get the balance right.

I always knew the Common Reed would need managing, but I love its height & the seed heads, Duck Weed & Blanket Weed are a problem as even with less Common Reed the I can't skim either off between the leaves & flower heads of the Bog Bean & Marsh Cinquefoil. They are both beautiful plants & I love having them in my pond. Marsh Bedstraw is also beautiful then in flower on the higher area as it's a mass of tiny white flowers that leave a faint smell of honey hanging in the air.
Hedgehogs & Rats would be a real problem to duck eggs Karen. In New Zealand Hedgehogs are considered vermin by many, as unlike here they are thriving as there isn't the same traffic density & farming isn't as intensive. Many say Hedgehogs are a real threat to Kiwi as they eat lots of ground nesting bird's eggs & they could become extinct. Both species if around your garden would happily feast off duck eggs.

Thanks Red Kite. I didn't know that hedgehogs were considered a problem New Zealand.

It will be three weeks tomorrow since the arrival of our mallard pair. We've even started buying them their own food! They communicate with each other most of the time with little quiet quacking noises and seem to have ended up with names Mr and Mrs Quackers. Here now having an evening feed before the disappear off to wherever they spend the night times.

Lovely photos, they are obviously at home, if your happy with them in your pond & garden then they are a nice addition, I wonder why she isn't nesting.

An amusing aside regarding Mallards, we have a good number at Whinfell Center Parcs where I now work, David Cameron having made my environmental business cease to be viable with the changes to the agricultural environmental grant schemes.

Last winter we had a lot of complaints about how dirty the entrance to the visitors centre was on the side away from the lake. The problem was obviously duck poo, but ducks don't go into the visitors centre, or we didn't think they did. Then late at night a group of Mallards were observed aproaching the automatic doors & flapping their wings. When the doors opened they marched inside & settled down for the night. In the morning they got up went to the doors flapped their wings & walked out when they opened.
Staff were tired of hosing down the entrance & it looked bad to guests who were up & about early so one night 4 members of staff went in with a net & caught them. On counting it turned out that there were:

1 Male
1 Juvenile
11 Females

Obviously with Mallards the female are the more intelligent sex.

The ducks caught were taken to a farm a few miles away that had a pond, their wing feathers were clipped so that they couldn't fly till they moulted & got new wing feathers & they were then released to settle into their new home.

FoN is back (YAY) and so are the mallards. They're becoming a regular feature of spring in our garden. Mr Drake even pecks the conservatory window when he wants food

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Hmmm, not sure what happened there. Will have to fiddle about later.

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Not sure what happened there. Will have to have a look later. It doesn't take long to forget how to do stuff

(This post was last modified: 20-05-19, 05:19 PM by Osprey.)