Mallards! (1 Viewer)

A few days ago I was taken by surprise! Two Mallards waddled up the drive and started feeding out of the Ground feeder! I had seen them in the pond in the copse (not near birdtable) but never actually taking food! I will attach pictures asap.

They now quack outside the front door every morning! They have associated me with food and seem very tame! It's ALMOST possible to hand feed them! I am sure they are not domestic though, definitely wild.

I have also seen other Mallards around which seem to be oblivious to humans, or very tame. Especially recently.

Is there some reason? Has the breeding season gone to their heads?! Is natural food low in supply at the moment?

That's great, maybe I will get some too,now the Pheasant has found me. Maybe your ducks are used to a large public pond where people feed them regularly? Those ones often get quite tame don't they?

Yep that's true. But I always used to see them around so I know exactly where they've been for most of the time, and there are no public ponds for miles.

Hopefully you'll get some too!

I am at least 500 yds from the nearest small pond but regularly have a male and female mallard on the front lawn, and more recently have also had another pair on the back lawn as well. Easter weekend was the best with four mallards (two males and two females) also two pheasants all eating/sleeping in and around the feeders in the garden. At the same time the tree sparrows and greenfinches wre all eating seed out of the feeders so that the bigger birds underneath also had a supply of seed spilt out onto them. Late on a couple of rats also appeared when the ducks and pheasants eventually moved out. My garden is not really that big and I have farmland on four sides recently sown with corn.

I did have duck for dinner the other day but I hasten to add it was bought from Tesco and was not one of my friends that inhabit the garden.