You're a mallard!

You were banded last August near St. Denis, Saskatchewan by Ducks Unlimited Canada scientists.

Your mom had laid you and 11 other greenish-white eggs in May. After you hatched in June, your mother led you and your siblings to the marsh to eat. You are a dabbler duck who feeds by straining invertebrates, seeds and plants from the water with your large bill.

Last fall, after growing your flight feathers, you migrated with your family south to the coastal wetlands in Louisiana, U.S.A. You found a mate while wintering here, and this spring you had your own nest near a wetland close to St. Denis, where you were hatched.

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Banding or marking ducks helps scientists learn more about them and what they need to survive. Protecting wetlands is one way to help ducks.

Fast Facts:

• Dabbling duck (eats at water surface or by tipping up).
• Eats seeds, plants and invertebrates.
• Ancestor of nearly all domestic duck breeds
• May nest 3 or 4 times in the spring if its nest is destroyed by a predator like a skunk or crow.
• The most abundant and widely recognized duck in the world, this “puddle duck” will nest near any tiny body of water – including a backyard swimming pool!