Mallard Duck

The male mallard duck has a greyish body, chestnut coloured breast and a green head with white neck rings. The inner feathers of the wings are a metallic purplish-blue, bordered in the front and back with white. The female mallard is a mottled brown with a white tail and the feathers of the inner wing are also purplish-blue. The bill is a mottled orange and brown. The mallard duck breeds in the north and winters in the south, along coasts. They inhabit marshes, ponds and marshy lakes. In midwinter mallards form pairs and migrate northward together heading for the female's place of origin. There they will build a down-lined nest to place the 8-10 light olive-green eggs. The male duck stays until incubation is well underway, then leaves to join a flock of other males. They often interbreed with domestic ducks, producing a variety of odd-looking hybrids. Mallard ducks are a normally shy creature but do occasionally become tame in city parks and on reservoirs.

General issues across the Sub Region will be addressed below, followed by management plans specific to individual populations.

Issues:

• Carpenter Lake reservoir, when flooded, covers prime feeding areas for mallards
• Lack of data on population dynamics in Sub Region
• There may be herbicide spraying in regions in the Sub Region that may be affecting birds that eat or depend on the sprayed plants

Goals:

• Implement studies to determine population dynamics
• Implement studies to determine the effects of water management on mallards
• Determine where and when herbicide spraying occurs, and what plant species are being treated
• Determine if the herbicide spraying is affecting mallard populations