Mallard Duck Eggs???

[Jolie C]

Does anyone know anything about mallard ducks and their nests? I removed a bush in my front yard today and I didn't realize until the bush was completely cut down that there is a mallard duck nest tucked away in there. With the bush gone, the nest was completely exposed on one side, so I took the branches of the bush and propped them up to hide that side of the nest again. I'm just worried that the mother will abandon the nest now and the 13 eggs will never hatch! If the mother doesn't come back tonight, does that mean she has abandoned the nest? If so, would it be too late to try and incubate the eggs and get them to hatch? I don't want to just leave the eggs there and let them die if the mother isn't coming back. Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[Cruisin]

I don't know the answer to your questions but is there some kind of wildlife society, state park with wildlife experts etc. near you. Maybe you could call someone for advice on what to do.
Or try looking it up on the internet and see what you can find.

Good luck with your eggs

 

[mep319]

If you find an egg in a wild bird's nest...In the United States, there are laws protecting most wild birds (this includes ducks and geese), their eggs, their nests - even their feathers! If you find a nest that has fallen out of the tree and can't replace it, contact your local wildlife rescue agency. Please do not take eggs out of any wild bird nest.

From what I have read and the experience I have had w/ foul...never a mallard....I'd leave it alone and keep any dogs/cats away and see if the mother comes back....hopefully it will. If not I'd try to locate a wildlife rehabiliation center in your area...which isn't alway easy to do! Otherwise there are some great how toos online...It would be worth a try! Good luck!

 

[preshi]

Just leave them and keep an eye out for her. She knows where her nest is and contrary to opular belief will go back to her nest even if you have touched it.

 

[Jolie C]

Thanks for the suggestions! I didn't touch the nest or touch anything near the nest, so hopefully nothing will scare the mom off, unless she notices that the bush is not the way it used to be. She certainly hid her nest well, because I've walked past there a thousand times a day, usually with my dog at my side and I never noticed it at all! My dog never even sniffed in that direction, either. Hopefully nothing about the dismantled bush will scare her off!

 

[always dreamin']

We had a Mallard Duck nest last spring. She was very quiet in there and we hardly even noticed her. At times it seemed to us that she abandoned her eggs, but she always came back eventually. From what I understand, once the eggs hatch she (the mother) leads them to water very fast. This turned out to be the case with us. We never even saw the babies. Just one day the eggs were there and it seemed like the next thing we noticed there were broken eggs and an abandoned nest. However, it did seem like the eggs were there for a very long time. My only advice it to be patient. It may seem like she abandoned her nest full of eggs, but I'm fairly confident she will come back!

BTW...she was never agressive with her nest like a mother bird is!

 

[msdznyduck]

Originally posted by always dreamin'
We had a Mallard Duck nest last spring. She was very quiet in there and we hardly even noticed her. At times it seemed to us that she abandoned her eggs, but she always came back eventually. From what I understand, once the eggs hatch she (the mother) leads them to water very fast. This turned out to be the case with us. We never even saw the babies. Just one day the eggs were there and it seemed like the next thing we noticed there were broken eggs and an abandoned nest. However, it did seem like the eggs were there for a very long time. My only advice it to be patient. It may seem like she abandoned her nest full of eggs, but I'm fairly confident she will come back!

BTW...she was never agressive with her nest like a mother bird is!

We had the same thing last year in a bush next to our driveway. My car was parked almost right next to the nest. As the days went on, I parked at the end of the driveway, so as not to frighten her, or heaven forbid, run over her, her mate, or babies, if they happened to be walking about.
We did call our wildlife department, and they said the same as above.......it will look as if she abandoned the nest, but will always come back. As soon as they hatched, she paraded them over to the pond near us, and we didn't see them either.
Elaine