Why did the duck cross the road?

MAD MALLARD mums frequently make the news. Ducks and their young turn up in the most unlikely places, causing all manner of mayhem, including traffic chaos.

A duck with delusions of grandeur nested for several years in the grounds of Leinster House; photos of gardaí holding up the traffic as the proud mother led her brood to the pond in St Stephen’s Green appeared in newspapers. Another duck laid her eggs in a window box on the first floor of an elegant Georgian house in Ballsbridge. The mother then persuaded the hatched little balls of fluff to leap from the ledge to the pavement below, from which she led them to the River Dodder, in the traffic-free quiet of the early morning.

This year, a duck nesting on the sill of a three-storey window of an office block in Dublin was not so lucky. Once her brood made it to the street below, they did not get far before disaster struck; the mother was run over by a car. RTÉ’s Mooney show tried to find out what became of the babies. It seems they were taken away by a woman who can’t be traced.

But why do ducks nest in such places?

Although mallards usually nest close to water, they seldom set up shop right beside it; nests can be up to three kilometres away. Keeping well back from the water was certainly a wise precaution long ago. Mallard nests, unlike those of some water birds, don’t float. Duck eggs are heavy and nests have to be on solid ground. If water levels rise after rain, they may be flooded and the eggs destroyed.

A mallard lays an egg each day, and there can be up to 13 in a normal clutch. She will incubate for a further 28 days. A lot can change, weather-wise, in such a long time. A duck has no way of knowing in advance what conditions will be like, so it makes good sense for her to nest above the flood line.

Nowadays, water levels are controlled. Europe’s rivers have all been tamed; most of them are little more than glorified canals. It’s so rare for the defences to be breached that floods make front-page news. Long ago, when mallard were evolving their breeding strategies, rivers and lakes were very unstable. Rainwater, such as that which fell on Britain recently, inundated vast areas of the countryside. Modern ducks don’t know flooding is no longer much of a risk; the 21st century mallard is faithful to the ways of her ancestors.

Nesting high up may be another innate security measure; even if there is a flood, such a nest will be above the water level. This could explain why ducks choose balconies or windowsills as nest sites. Height also offers protection from large animals, which might trample on eggs which are in a ground nest. Of course, the choice of site is not a conscious decision on a duck’s part. Like almost all bird behaviour patterns, this is wired into her genes.

Leading her newly hatched babies to water was seldom a problem in the old days. There was some risk from predators during the long walk, but before humans cleared the land for agriculture, there would have been continuous ground cover. With ducklings well screened from their enemies, the risks to them were minimal. Nor were obstacles a problem; no vegetation is so thick that ducklings cannot penetrate it. Now, though, concrete walls block the paths of the little ducks and cars speed along roads which have to be crossed.

Distressed ducks, hemmed in by walls or venturing onto busy thoroughfares, must be caught and carried to safety. If you come across such a brood, contact the SPCA immediately. Should help take too long to arrive, you may have to rescue the ducks yourself. Try to capture the mother first. It’s essential she is caught; babies released on to water without the protection of their mother have almost no chance of survival. Nor can orphaned ducklings be fostered to other broods; a mother will attack, and even kill, a strange duckling.

There is nothing to fear from a duck’s bill; it is blunt and, although she may peck at a rescuing hand, her bite does not hurt. A captured duck can be placed in a cardboard box but she must be kept close to the ducklings; her quacking will lure the babies towards her. You can control the ducklings’ movements by moving the mother about.

If a baby is caught while the mother is still at large, its alarm calls will usually lure the parent towards it.

It all sounds distressing but what is the alternative? Once released on to water, calm will soon descend and mother and babies won’t be any the worse for their traumatic experience.