geordielou Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 A mallard hybrid duck built a nest in our garden and 16 ducklings hatched mid April. The duck left with her family shortly after but she returned to the nest at the end of May. I presume that it's the same duck as I recognise her head markings. I was surprised because I'd heard that mallards only breed once a year but she sat tightly on the nest for days and didn't move even when our dog investigated, so I presumed she must've been sitting on eggs. She has now been on the nest for about 3 weeks and yesterday our dog scared her and she flew off the nest and away from the garden revealing that it was empty. I presumed that was the end of it and after being scared by the dog she wouldn't return. But she came back later that night and is sitting on the nest again. Could this be a phantom pregnancy or something, I've googled and found nothing about the subject. Can anyone help? Thanks Louise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
