When do mallard ducks mate

Both have a big blue patch on wings bordered with white. Commonly seen: Floating on ponds with their rear ends in the air, orange feet kicking as they feed on the bottom. Occasionally confused with: Northern shovelers, pintails and gadwalls. Look for the blue patch on the wings, which is unique to mallards. Fun fact: Mallards will re-nest up to seven times a season if their nests are destroyed.

Like wildlife? So do we! Every second Wednesday the Gazette profiles a reasonably common wild creature in the St. Albert region. Birds, beasts, bugs, fish … so long as it's alive and kicking, we'll feature it. Send your suggestions to [email protected]. Home Local News The extraordinary sex life of the common mallard The mallard seems like such an innocent little duck.

Share on Facebook. Wild St. Albert Like wildlife? The Female lays down the eggs from mid-March to the end of July. In normal breeding, a female clutch contains about eggs.

These eggs are laid at one to two days intervals. Incubation of these eggs takes about 27 to 38 days and the whole process of incubation is done by the female by herself.

A normal duck loses more than half of its body weight in laying eggs. All of this egg-laying occurs in a couple of weeks. At this time the female needs the hand of its mate but the male ditches her with time and joins the other males to molt. These molting males forcefully mate with the females that are unattached. This type of anti-social behavior of male mallards ends till molting is underway.

Female mallards prefer to nest near the safe area having vegetation covers and water availability. Nests are built in the protected cavity having the food supply and swimming facility. It will not be less than gold if found in a tree with large natural holes.

They build their nests in the less perfect places like woodpiles, haystacks, boathouses, old crows nests, and roof gardens. Sometimes they are also found in the large flower pots and balconies. Young ducklings or offspring remain with their mothers for protection usually for two months before fledging. When a mallard duck loses its mate then the female surviving member does not form the new pair and lives the remaining life to its end of the deal.

Male mallards have no such allegiance to a particular breeding area and may roam widely during their lifetime as they follow different hens back to the breeding grounds in successive years. Once pairs arrive on the breeding grounds, the male's main job appears to be to defend his mate and her nesting territory from intrusion by other mallards. This is partly to provide the hen with undisturbed feeding time but also to defend the male's paternity.

Unpaired males will vigorously attempt to mate with unguarded females, and despite the best efforts of paired drakes, genetic analysis has shown that many broods contain ducklings sired by different male parents. Thus, we can perhaps add promiscuity to the range of mating opportunities sought by male mallards—and females, too. As nesting proceeds, the male becomes less and less attentive until he finally abandons his mate about the time she begins incubating.

At this time, the drake will strike out in search of other breeding opportunities, leaving the female to hatch and raise her brood on her own. Meanwhile, the drake may pair up with another female that has lost her nest or mate. The propensity of mallards to form new pairs within a single breeding season can be thought of as a form of serial monogamy.

Most other ducks demonstrate similar patterns of monogamy, although pairing in diving ducks, for example, typically occurs during spring migration or after the birds have arrived on the breeding grounds. And while most ducks pair and nest as yearlings, many don't breed until their second or third year of life.

Remarkably, some species such as Barrow's goldeneyes and buffleheads reestablish pair bonds on the wintering grounds with mates from previous years. Canada geese are different. Pairs will typically remain together throughout the birds' lives.

But this isn't absolute. Nearly all are mallards. And all the boys have just one thing on their minds at this time of year — being twitterpated, as the wise owl told the young Bambi. They are naturalists Brooke Gilley and Bev Bryant from the Wehr Nature Center, who were a little amused but willing to answer our questions about the sex lives of ducks:.

Sort of. It's corkscrew shaped and about 2 cm long or roughly three-fourths of an inch. It's outside his body, which is like other ducks, but different than most birds. In those other species, the gentlemen's equipment is generally inside his body to make flying easier. They mate many times, although exact numbers are unknown.

Once in a while, a fellow who can't find a girl will become friendly with another's. Having his equipment on the outside makes it easier for him to accomplish his goal, even if the girl is not that agreeable.