# Wild Mallard Duck Made a Nest in Yard



## BooksBudgies (Jul 14, 2015)

Spring has sprung (even though it snowed yesterday...:001_rolleyes and I have a visiter in my yard! We noticed some ducks hanging around our neighborhood (which is uncommon since we live in the foothills). The other day, we figured out why!

A mallard duck made a nest right by our front door! It's actually a very safe spot, since it's raised above the ground and beneath a bush. It's weird that she chose to nest so close to our house; she doesn't seem to be afraid of humans. We entertained the thought that maybe she was someone's pet and escaped. Obviously she's been free for a while if that's the case, seeing as she's well on her way to having a family. We don't want to disturb her too much, though we're keeping an eye out for her. Not entirely sure where she's planning on taking the ducklings when they hatch...there's a pond maybe a mile or so away. Our neighbors have some water features in their yard so that's a possibility as well.

Will post updates if we're lucky enough to see the ducklings before she takes them away. If they stick around for awhile, we've been reading up to see if there's anything we can do to help. Will let neighbors know about the ducks so they can keep an eye on their pets.

I'm a little worried once the ducklings hatch, since we have quite a few predators around us! We have raccoons, foxes, coyotes, hawks, owls, eagles...there was even a mountain lion sighting a few days ago! But, like I said, she nested right by our house, so the fear of humans should keep the bulk of predators away.

Here's a pic I snapped with my phone, hence the bad quality. Super excited!


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## RavensGryf (May 8, 2015)

How cute . It will be exciting to see ducklings. I hope she stays safe. I absolutely love ducks! Mallards are pretty widespread. I'm in a totally different climate from you and they're the common duck specie here.

Edit: _quote from NationalGeographic.com_ "The green head and yellow bill of the mallard duck is a familiar sight to many people living in the Northern hemisphere. In fact, the mallard is thought to be the most abundant and wide-ranging duck on Earth."


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*That is so sweet!!

I do hope the little Mama and her ducklings will be safe from the multiple predators in the area. :fingerx:
Have you seen the father? 
Does he feed the Mama Duck while she is on the nest the way a budgie does for his mate?*


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## BooksBudgies (Jul 14, 2015)

RavensGryf said:


> How cute . It will be exciting to see ducklings. I hope she stays safe. I absolutely love ducks! Mallards are pretty widespread. I'm in a totally different climate from you and they're the common duck specie here.
> 
> Edit: _quote from NationalGeographic.com_ "The green head and yellow bill of the mallard duck is a familiar sight to many people living in the Northern hemisphere. In fact, the mallard is thought to be the most abundant and wide-ranging duck on Earth."


Haha yes, they are very common in this area. What I meant is that we don't often see them all the way up near my house in the foothills because it's so dry and ducks are waterfowl. We'll see them near ponds and water below the foothills though!  We mainly have quail, mourning doves, finches, and birds of prey up here!



FaeryBee said:


> *That is so sweet!!
> 
> I do hope the little Mama and her ducklings will be safe from the multiple predators in the area. :fingerx:
> Have you seen the father?
> Does he feed the Mama Duck while she is on the nest the way a budgie does for his mate?*


Yeah, I saw a drake (male duck) for a few days last week but haven't seen it since. From what I've read, the male will hang around for a little while as the female creates the nest, but once she starts incubating normally he leaves :thumbdown: The incubation period for mallards is 28 days so in a little less than a month I'm hoping to see some ducklings! I haven't counted the eggs since I don't want to disturb the nest and don't want mamma duck to abandon it. I've caught a few glimpses when she leaves to feed and it looks like there's quite a few!


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## HappiBudgie (Jan 17, 2017)

That's pretty exciting! And she doesn't seem scared at all! :wow:


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## philw (Aug 22, 2014)

I've been around mallards much of my life both in keeping them and taking care of sitiuations like you're talking about. 
Males don't take care of the mom (and future kids), after the eggs are laid. After the ducklings hatch, after about a day, they're ready to move on to where they'll grow up which is a pond or stream nearby.
Mom has the instinct to know where to go although the problem's can arise since the ducklings can walk but not fly so she will need to lead them to the water body where she spent her time with a male before she laid eggs. It could be a distance, hopefully not a whole mile (there could be closer streams nearby, but I doubt your neighbors "water features" would be attractive to her. She'll probably do fine on her own but if there are roads on the way, she and her babies will have to cross them. Curbs or highway drain grates can also be a problem too. Don't know if you've ever read the book "Make Way for Ducklings" (google it). But although it's a kids book, the story line is pretty close to what happens. Mallards like the one nesting are wild ducks, but she chose a safe spot for her and best thing is to leave her do her thing when the kids hatch. If you are around when she's ready to leave the nest with kids in tow,
you could follow at a distance,(on foot) to make sure she doesn't get into trouble, such as traffic on roads etc. Good luck with this.
Let me know how this pans out with your semi-adopted family.
This is about as far away from budgies as we can get on Talk Budgies!!!


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## JRS (Sep 3, 2016)

Ah that's lovely. A nest of Easter eggs on your doorstep 

I really hope the timing works well and you're able to see them all move on safely - You'll have to keep your camera ready!


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

How absolutely precious! It's lovely that Mama Duck decided to raise her babies where she did  

I hope they stay safe, keep us posted on how the family is doing! :fingerx:


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## BooksBudgies (Jul 14, 2015)

HappiBudgie said:


> That's pretty exciting! And she doesn't seem scared at all! :wow:


Yeah, she's completely chilled out while we do yard work or when my brother plays Basketball on the driveway! 



philw said:


> .
> Let me know how this pans out with your semi-adopted family.





JRS said:


> Ah that's lovely. A nest of Easter eggs on your doorstep
> 
> I really hope the timing works well and you're able to see them all move on safely - You'll have to keep your camera ready!





StarlingWings said:


> How absolutely precious! It's lovely that Mama Duck decided to raise her babies where she did
> 
> I hope they stay safe, keep us posted on how the family is doing! :fingerx:


Thank you all for the advice and I will be sure to keep you updated! Haha this will be her own little "breeding journal" 

Since we're going to have her around for awhile, I was getting really tired of calling her "mamma duck" or "the duck". So I've decided to just call her Piper. I think it's a good bird name, and when all the ducklings hatch and follow her in that long line of theirs, she'll look like the Pied Piper  
Like in this picture online:







And I just love coming up with names, so any excuse will work to dish out a new one.

You know how I said she nested right outside our front door? Well, this is how close she is! Her nest is right under that small tree/bush on the right. (Excuse the cluttered steps when I took this picture haha. In midst of reorganizing plants and yard as spring arrives)









Got some more pics of Piper with my camera this time









She's really a beautiful duck and blends in perfectly!


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## RavensGryf (May 8, 2015)

That's so fun Katie . Amazing how she made a nest so close to where humans regularly walk. 

Yesterday (Easter), I saw a mom Mallard with a couple new babies by the little man made pond near my mom's house. As I drove by, a baby was climbing up the sloped grass area, it was so adorable to see .


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Piper is beautiful and it appears she isn't at all bothered by her close proximity to your front door and work with your plants.

I'll be looking forward to your updates! *


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## HappiBudgie (Jan 17, 2017)

Piper is a lovely name for a duck  I don't know why it sounds so good, but it just does! :lol:
Can't wait to see her babies!


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## philw (Aug 22, 2014)

Hi Katie..Just wanted to know if you've scoped out your area for the closest pond or stream. That's where she'll be headed after the kids hatch. You could google maps your address and click on "satellite" and zoom in for detail. Keep in mind to not get too close to the nest but she feels safe where she is. It's possible that she's been sitting
on her eggs before you discovered her but anyway, when you go out
side, always listen for peeping sounds, coming from the area which tells you that hatching has started. They'll likely all hatch about the same day, and will leave then next day.
In the meantime, check out any potential barriers for her to escort
her brood to their watery home. Remember she cannot carry them but simply leads. I've done this a number of times at the school I taught, with a female that laid her eggs in an enclosed courtyard and the school had to open two doors in a hallway to allow mom and ducklings to walk into the school hall and out another door to a nearby pond. Very cool. Lots of kids got to see this.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

She's adorable! How special she's chosen you to watch over her and her chicks  

I can't wait for more updates!


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## Biggles (Dec 11, 2010)

:flowers::clap:How fantastic she has a wonderful nest, what a great job she has done! Do keep us informed more pics when babies arrive and how she deals with the tricky business of getting them to water.


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## VampiricConure (Apr 25, 2017)

How very exciting  Waiting nervously for updates!!


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## BooksBudgies (Jul 14, 2015)

Hello all! Just wanted to inform you that Mama Duck (aka Piper) has been vigilantly sitting on her nest. Don't know how long the eggs were laid before we discovered them, but I'd say it hadn't been more than a few days. If it had been longer (say, a week), I'd guess that the eggs would be hatching this week since it'd have been about 3-3 1/2 weeks in all today and the eggs incubate for 28 days! I think it's more likely that it's been about 2 1/2 weeks since she's laid them and that they'll be hatching sometime next week! Super exciting! Of course I'll post when they hatch!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Katie,
Thanks for the additional information.
Any idea what Mama Duck is eating while she's incubating the eggs? Does she leave the nest for a period of time each day to eat and drink?*


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## Birdmanca (Jan 24, 2008)

By luck that mother duck found the right house to nest at. I see how close she is to your door. You right as you car about both her and the baby ducks that will be there. You will enjoy watching them.


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## BooksBudgies (Jul 14, 2015)

FaeryBee said:


> *Katie,
> Thanks for the additional information.
> Any idea what Mama Duck is eating while she's incubating the eggs? Does she leave the nest for a period of time each day to eat and drink?*


I don't know what she's eating for sure, but I'd guess she's going to a nearby pond. We have a golf course at the base of our hill (a little over a mile) with many ponds and ducks there. We also have a pond about a mile in the other direction in the midst of the foothills- it's kind of a swamp-like area. I hope for her and the ducklings' sakes that there's one nearer that I don't know about so when they all make the trek over, it'll be a whole let less of a walk for the little ones! And yes, she leaves the nest at least once a day (not sure how often/long because I don't want to bug her, so I only glance over when I'm already outside and a distance away)



Birdmanca said:


> By luck that mother duck found the right house to nest at. I see how close she is to your door. You right as you car about both her and the baby ducks that will be there. You will enjoy watching them.


Thank you! I am very excited for when the ducklings hatch and I hope that the pond is somewhere near so I can see them again! I don't think they'll be by me long after they hatch since the mother duck takes them to grow up near a pond so they have a food source nearby! Will hopefully have my camera ready for the short time they're here!


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## BooksBudgies (Jul 14, 2015)

*They've Hatched! We've got Ducklings!!*

I'm posting today with very exciting news (if you haven't already guessed by the title)but *the ducklings have hatched!!*:w00t::clap::jumping1::woot::smiley-talk017:

They hatched today, right on schedule! I counted 13 ducklings but Mama's been sitting on them so it's possible I missed one or two. There is only 1 dud egg, so I think she did pretty good! I posted _many_ pictures and a couple videos below because I have to share all the cuteness that will melt your heart! As expected, they only stuck around until the ducklings were strong enough to walk. Unfortunately, I had to leave for my choir concert so I wasn't able to see where they went or help them on their way. But Piper's been a very protective mama so I'm hopeful they'll make it!

I plan on doing at least 1 painting or art piece with all the pictures I got! 

She has a talent to be able to sit on all her little babies! You can just make out two sticking out on either side.

















Poor Bella was jealous and hated being left inside. She knew I was paying attention to something besides her! 









So happy mama duck moved so I could see all her babies!

































Crawling over each other :001_wub:









All their little heads peeping out!









Getting ready to go! 

















Here's the dud. There's half of a hatched egg beside it









These 2 videos are _completely_ raw! I don't have time to edit them tonight and I wanted to post this today! As you can see, Piper was getting a little distressed every time I moved, so I tried to keep my distance from her. She is much more protective of her babies now that they've hatched! Understandably so  So the video is a bit shaky as I shifted and a bit blurry since I had to zoom. But the cuteness of the babies overrides all of that!


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## JRS (Sep 3, 2016)

Oh my goodness, what a cuteness overload!:001_wub:

Lovely photos & video clips Katie, yes, you should definitely create some art piece around this event!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Katie,

The pictures and videos are great!
Thank you so much for sharing them with us.
I'm so glad we got to see Piper's ducklings before they started off for their long journey.
I pray they all got to the pond safely and will have long and happy lives.*


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

They are adorable, I am glad you have decided to do an art piece of them, you have a great talent and I am sure it will turn out well. 
Many years ago I lived where there was a pond behind a wooded area at the back of my house and I used to get mama ducks and their babies coming daily into the yard, it was so cute to see them all in a line following mama.


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## Hunterkat (Mar 29, 2017)

So cute!! Baby ducks are adorable!!


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Oh my goodness, they are absolutely adorable! :001_wub: What precious little ducklings  I'm so glad that they're all doing well; I hope they made it safely to the pond! How special that you got to host them for their short stay 

I can't wait to see any pictures of them you decide to draw!


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## janelleee (Apr 14, 2017)

Aww cuteness overload 


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk


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## philw (Aug 22, 2014)

Where is their new hangout? Any photos after the move?


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## Birdmanca (Jan 24, 2008)

That is great. A wild mallard is staying in front of your door. Do keep showing the progress as it happens. Seems you and your neighbor will help the ducks. Duck got lucky and picked the right place to land. Hope those predators do not get the ducks, seems there are several near you.


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## RavensGryf (May 8, 2015)

Ohh! They're cute!


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## philw (Aug 22, 2014)

Today is May 15th and I'm assuming that the mallard hen and her ducklings have departed....ducks don't stay in the nest more than a day or two. Hoping to hear the rest of the story, and that they're now in a nearby pond or creek. That's how ducks do it.


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