is this typical drake behaviour?

[emjay]

I have been leaving duck eggs in their house for a few days now, and the girls keep laying in this same nest, all neat and tidy. well, tonite I figured i would take some of the newer eggs in to save up to put under my broody hen .
The one drake came in as I was taking some eggs and he kept sticking his beak into the nest and tapping the eggs. Almost like he was doing an egg count and making sure they were still tidy.
Is it common drake behaviour to want to keep tabs on eggs in a nest?

 

[duckyfromoz]

That must have been a sight!! I once had a drake sit beside a broody duck when he wasnt eating for days and nights on end ( but I think it was form loneliness more than anything else. ) - but I havent noticed any real fatherly instincts in my drakes. There are of course a few birds that the male of the breed help to incubate eggs- so its not unrealistic to think they can in some way bond with the eggs.