| Mallards in the
Pines By Jay V. Huner |
 Mallard photo by Jim Johnson Photoraphy, Lecompte, LA |
| Think about it. What comes
into your mind when someone says duck? Most readers will
immediately think of greenheads, the common Mallard. The
drake (male) Mallard in full breeding plumage stands out
in a crowd with its bright, iridescent greenhead, light
gray body, and black, curly-cue tail. Hen (female), immature, and non-breeding drake Mallards are mottled brown in color. If they are still, they are very hard to see even on open ground. They have ideal camouflage and that's pretty important both when hens are on their nests in the spring. Later in the summer, when Mallards molt their feathers, they often cannot fly no matter how wildly they flap their wings. So, stealth is important to protect against predators. You can find Mallards in just about any park in the piney woods throughout the year. Birders describe these birds as feral Mallards to distinguish them from the wild, migratory Mallards that show up in the region in fall and leave for northern nesting grounds in the spring. Wild Mallards usually weigh around three pounds but feral Mallards may weigh as much as 4 pounds. The feral Mallards will crowd around anyone with bread or popcorn to feed them while wild Mallards will normally stay away from people in park-like settings. Park ducks often show a wide variety of color patterns. Feral Mallards freely mate with other domestic ducks, many arising from the Mallard in the first place. Various authorities consider the Mallard to be the progenitor of most domestic ducks. Muscovy ducks are commonly found in parks. These huge ducks come in a variety of colors and the males have odd looking faces covered with wattles and protrusions. Drake Mallards will mate with female Muscovies when the opportunity arises. The offspring are sterile and called Mulards - Mule Ducks! They are colorful ducks intermediate in size between the parents. Mallards are referred to as puddle ducks because they feed in shallow water. They tip up with tails in the air and bills rooting around for seeds including acorns and tubers. They eat plenty of wasted rice, corn, soybeans, and wheat in harvested fields. They will flock to unharvested crops during migration, making them unwelcome. Mallards and their puddle duck relatives such as teal, wigeon, shovelers, and pintails rarely dive completely under water. However, they can dive when being threatened by predators, especially hawks and eagles. And, many hunters can attest to the ability of Mallards to disappear when crippled. Mallards are the ducks of choice for hunters. Nothing pleases duck hunters more than a limit of greenheads to show off and later to roast. You can tell a diehard duck hunter by the number of curly cue drake Mallard tail feathers in his or her hat band. Mallards are noisy and gregarious and attract other ducks to resting and feeding places. The significance of Mallards to hunting is shown by the huge number of Mallard decoys in use and dependence of hunters on Mallard duck calls. Mallards are where you find them. In the piney woods, you can find them in pools in stream or branch bottoms, flooded oak flats, or in the middle of large water bodies. Mallards often rest on lakes and reservoirs during the day. Jay V. Huner |
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