DucklingWatch

While mallards are a common sight across the UK, our breeding population has declined by around 5% since the mid 1990s. Our wintering mallard population, which includes migrants from continental Europe, has also declined, shrinking by a third in the same period. Improving our understanding of mallard ecology, from their preferred habitats and breeding success to their migration patterns, is important to ensure we effectively conserve this species.

One gap in our knowledge of mallard ecology is the survival rate of their ducklings – this is the proportion of ducklings that survive to adulthood. This has not been directly studied in the UK but is key to understanding what drives changes in mallard populations. In this project, we are hoping members of the public across the UK can help us collect vital data which will allow us to calculate the mallard duckling survival rate.

Anyone can take part, no matter your level of bird knowledge. All you need to do is keep an eye out for broods of mallard ducklings in spring and take a note of how many you saw. We are particularly eager for people to send us multiple records of the same brood – this is important as it allows us to track how many ducklings have survived in a brood. Broods of ducklings tend to stay in the same place for the first few weeks of life, so if you have a local pond, river or lake you visit regularly, keep your eyes peeled for ducklings hanging around the same spot.