In the marsh maze in the image below help this mallard drake and
hen return their young to the nest by finding a clear channel from
where they are back to the nest. Collect the numbers along the way
to discover the coordinates to the cache which is overlooking a
marsh that has many ducks and geese visiting over the year.
Click here or on the image for a larger version.
The cache is a camouflaged lock-n-lock container. Don't forget
your binoculars once the ice is off the marsh and you may be
rewarded with a view of many duck families on this productive
marsh. Cache contains FTFC, and then many of the usual goodies.
We are Ducks Unlimited volunteers supporting wetland
conservation and you can be too. Check out Ducks Unlimited Canada's website for more
information.
Corrections:
A good friend, Tim, who happens to be a wildlife biologist, and who
worked for Ducks Unlimited for many years studying ducks, has
pointed out a few inconsistencies with some of the orginal
information. We are including it so no one gets the wrong idea
here.
Sorry to be picky about your new cache but
I did work with DU and breeding mallard hens for a few years and I
need to set you straight. It is just one of those
things.
Drakes have nothing to do with nesting or
the young in the mallard nesting/hatchling season. The pair will
form a bond early in the spring (much further south) and stay
together for awhile after mating, but once nesting has begun, the
pair bond breaks down as the hen spends more and more time on the
nest. The hen will sit on a nest for almost 28-35 days (depending
on the clutch size, 7ish), but the drake does wait at the
territorial pond for about 2 weeks after nesting begins (only to be
snub because of that maternal instinct). The hen will lay 1 egg/day
for a weekish increasing her time at the nest as the clutch gets
bigger. At full clutch, they stay at the nest to incubate for about
23 hours at a time. They invest heavily in nesting and loose about
25% of their body weight during the ordeal. The drake loses all
hope and leaves looking for other hen who may need a little help,
if ya know what I'm saying.
Once the young hatch, which is quite rare
given the amount of predation that occurs (15% nest success is a
very good year), the hen will "watch over them" for another 60-75
days which is about when they fledge. Starting at about 60 days the
hen will leave for longer and longer times for better feeding
grounds. A newly hatched clutch is the most vulnerable and usually
does not survive. Any young that live past a week usually survives
to fledging, most don't.
As for the drakes, eventually all the
"new" bachelor drakes will flock together on larger lakes and ponds
to moult. The hen and young of the year will join them sooner or
later.
BTW, most of the ducks shot around here
are probably young of the year. Mature, breeding ducks are the ones
you see in the big flocks.
Does this make sense? It is really quite a
remarkable story and a very difficult life. I was always amazed at
how a 1200 gram hen can have the fortitude to do what they do. I'm
very sure many hunters have no idea of what they are doing when
they shoot the poor little critters.
your biological friend
Tim