Help! I have a duck nest under a bush in my garden

[Yooperduckmom]

I know the duck nests I've observed are nearly completely clean when the mother leaves, save for some feathers. Some mothers even clean most of the feathers out. At least this is what I've observed with mallards. Some mother ducks may even clear out the unhatched eggs. Also, many ducklings don't make it their first day or two.

Do you have a photo of the mama duck? If you do, you can compare it to the mother duck in the pond. Most mother ducks have a distinct bill pattern and sometimes a distinct head pattern.

Thanks for the info and good idea to help find the mother. I do have a photo, but not sure how close I will get to the duck at the cemetery to compare. Will definitely try. The nest was left in good order with nothing obvious left behind. You helped me understand that the mother duck most likely cleaned it up before she left.....leave it to a woman!!...lol!
Today I poked around under the nest and noticed several old looking egg membranes deep down under the down. No eggs, no ducklings. I still have a couple of questions:
1. Will a mother duck lay on a nest if there are no eggs? I wonder about this, because she was on the nest 24/7 until the last 2 hours. If the ducklings had already hatched (say days ago), why would she still be lying in the nest?
2. How would she get the ducklings to the pond? Do they just wandle behind her and would it be during daylight?
3. Does the mother duck eat the left over shells?
4. Should I keep the nest there and intact for her possible renesting this year or next year?

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

I think I would remove the nest. My broody ducks have eaten egg shells, every duck not every egg. I think 3-4 eggs would be the max that a duck would eat. That being said, I don't know a single bing about a wild duck... Although, several years ago, a wild duck nested on eggs in my ditch. She sat for a few days, then she disappeared and the nest was a mess. One last thing, I have picked up my broody ducks, not been able to find the ducklings, come to find out they are tucked up under mom's wing. Im sorry that you didn't get to see the hatch. But thank you for trying, it's all you can do. Even with domestic ducks, sometimes hatch doesn't work out.

 

[Yooperduckmom]

I think I would remove the nest. My broody ducks have eaten egg shells, every duck not every egg. I think 3-4 eggs would be the max that a duck would eat. That being said, I don't know a single bing about a wild duck... Although, several years ago, a wild duck nested on eggs in my ditch. She sat for a few days, then she disappeared and the nest was a mess. One last thing, I have picked up my broody ducks, not been able to find the ducklings, come to find out they are tucked up under mom's wing. Im sorry that you didn't get to see the hatch. But thank you for trying, it's all you can do. Even with domestic ducks, sometimes hatch doesn't work out.

Hmmmmm interesting that you say the ducklings could be hiding under the mom's wings. It seems that she looked a little "fuller" lately while lying in her nest and I noticed a little more white on her wings than before. Maybe she was fluffed out if the ducklings were under her wings. Wouldn't they be quacking though?

 

[desertdarlene]

They generally don't use the same nest site each year, though they might nest somewhere close if the hatch was successful.

I've known domestic ducks to sit on "imaginary eggs" but I don't recall a wild duck doing that. However, I have heard of some ducks and geese sitting on golf balls and such objects, so it's possible. Wild ducks are very vulnerable when they nest, so I doubt they would sit on an empty nest for long.

I would think they would eat the egg shells (and unhatched eggs) or move them away from the nesting site because a lot of other wild birds do that.

When mama leaves the nest, the babies waddle behind her. I've heard of them waddling quite a long distance, too. I would think they would only do it during daylight, but I might be wrong. I've just never seen or heard about mallards traveling with their ducklings at night, but mostly in the morning. I also think that they would get to where they were going within a couple of hours or less, but I'm not sure.

EDIT: I just saw the response about the ducklings under the wings. I've recently saw a mother with 10 ducklings under her wing and you wouldn't even know it. She looked completely normal. The ducklings made absolutely no noise at all, even when she stood up and they all came spilling out.

 

[Yooperduckmom]

Update: There was just an article and photo in the news about a mother duck and 11 ducklings downtown en route from the cemetery to the Harbor being escorted by a police officer to keep them safe... the day after they were gone from the nest. They were captured and transported to the Harbor where they seem content.. Oh it warms my heart to think that they could be the 11 ducklings from my yard.

 

[desertdarlene]

Update: There was just an article and photo in the news about a mother duck and 11 ducklings downtown en route from the cemetery to the Harbor being escorted by a police officer to keep them safe... the day after they were gone from the nest. They were captured and transported to the Harbor where they seem content.. Oh it warms my heart to think that they could be the 11 ducklings from my yard.

If they were nearby, then they might be the ones! Perhaps you can go down to the harbor and see.

 

[Miss Lydia]

That's awesome I hope it is them.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

 

[desertdarlene]

Is this your mama duck?

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...93007822.23724.128811050463163&type=1&theater

I think I've been to Marquette as a little girl, but I can't remember.

 

[Miss Lydia]

What a nice officer. and what a sweet family.