Parking Lot Ducks

[Oregon Blues]

I was at a huge shopping center with a couple of different food stores and many fast food places. There are always seagulls, pigeons, and sparrows there in the parking lot eating the bounty of dropped popcorn, spilled chips, and half eaten donuts and burger buns.

Yesterday, they were joined by a pair of mallard ducks. Very likely purebred mallards. Perhaps (also very likely) wild mallard ducks. They were quite small and beautifully colored, so they were not backyard pets from a hatchery. There is no duck appropriate habitat anywhere near the parking lot. It's in a business zone with blocks of paved parking lots all around, so they didn't just walk over from across the street.

Ducks. You who own ducks know how self-important they can be. This pair was making traffic stop for them. They were marching around and eating whatever they could find that appealed to them.

But it had to be good stuff. There was a pile of some sort of pink iced pastry that the seagulls checked out and abandoned. The ducks went over and looked and they didn't want it either. Doritos, on the other hand, are a premium score.

There would be just about zero chance of catching these birds, since they were staying well away from people. Plus a really good chance they could fly. I just thought it was interesting to encounter ducks working a parking lot like the pigeons do. It's the first time I've seen it except for the parking lot at the river park, and even there, they prefer to stay close to the water and are rarely in the parking lot.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I was at a huge shopping center with a couple of different food stores and many fast food places. There are always seagulls, pigeons, and sparrows there in the parking lot eating the bounty of dropped popcorn, spilled chips, and half eaten donuts and burger buns.

Yesterday, they were joined by a pair of mallard ducks. Very likely purebred mallards. Perhaps (also very likely) wild mallard ducks. They were quite small and beautifully colored, so they were not backyard pets from a hatchery. There is no duck appropriate habitat anywhere near the parking lot. It's in a business zone with blocks of paved parking lots all around, so they didn't just walk over from across the street.

Ducks. You who own ducks know how self-important they can be. This pair was making traffic stop for them. They were marching around and eating whatever they could find that appealed to them.

But it had to be good stuff. There was a pile of some sort of pink iced pastry that the seagulls checked out and abandoned. The ducks went over and looked and they didn't want it either. Doritos, on the other hand, are a premium score.

There would be just about zero chance of catching these birds, since they were staying well away from people. Plus a really good chance they could fly. I just thought it was interesting to encounter ducks working a parking lot like the pigeons do. It's the first time I've seen it except for the parking lot at the river park, and even there, they prefer to stay close to the water and are rarely in the parking lot.

They were probably flying over and saw the fast food..

 

[mandelyn]

Today is was geese for us at work. Nothing but parking lots, the mall, busy roads. They paired up to the islands on the parking lot's and honked at each other all day. Stopping traffic, just like those ducks.

This isn't even like fringe suburban area with strip malls. This is 100% urban with a real mall surrounded by at least 8 strip malls and 6 car dealerships, and the train tracks and interstate. There is a golf course and a cemetery though, maybe that's the overnight spot.

 

[jdywntr]

Down here I see this alot. Unfortunately. I have heard from many people of ducklings getting run over in parking lots because people won't stop.

There is a Starbucks near my work whose employees have asked a coworker to "rescue" some ducklings that they were feeding. She in turn asked me. The ducklings are getting taken by hawks ( per the employees ) and then more would appear.
A few weeks back I was driving trough a shopping center ( big one with Home Depot and a grocery store ) when up ahead I saw a duck walking through the lot. I got closer and saw that it was a mallard hen and then saw 2 little heads pop out of the first set of bushes in the parking lot in front of the grocery. I am sure at night these quiet (since everything is closed) parking lot bushes seem like great places to make nests

In both cases, the ducks were mallards which are a protected species here. You are not allowed to disturb a nest (against the law) and I don't think you can "relocate" them either, even if you could catch a perfectly healthy though misguided in nest placement mallard.

Now if they were Muscovy, I'd be right there to try to scoop them up and to safer grounds.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I will never forget a story I saw in a newspaper about 2 canadian geese that decided to use a mall parking lot in Charlotte NC as a great place to make a nest, every day the male would guard the nest and his mate from predators, cars people etc. but it was the female that got hit by a car and had her leg broken. A rescue group took the goose in to make sure she got medical attention but they left the gander, and people started saying how he was beside himself because his mate was gone, I never did find out if they ever got back together, but it was so sad to envision that poor gander trying to figure out what happend to his mate. I hope I never see ducks or geese walking around in parking lots looking for food, I would be wanting to bring them all home.

 

[jdywntr]

sad story Miss Lydia

I try not to think too much about and hope for the best. I still think about a video I saw I think the link was on BYC. It showed a muscovy hen with very small ducklings that were stuck in the middle of a 6 lane highway at the barrier. A policeman came along, stopped traffic and escorted the family (in his cruiser) to safety. All caught by a traffic cam.

I choose to think that there are more like him around then people that would run them over.

 

[Miss Lydia]

sad story Miss Lydia

I try not to think too much about and hope for the best. I still think about a video I saw I think the link was on BYC. It showed a muscovy hen with very small ducklings that were stuck in the middle of a 6 lane highway at the barrier. A policeman came along, stopped traffic and escorted the family (in his cruiser) to safety. All caught by a traffic cam.

I choose to think that there are more like him around then people that would run them over.

I agree. I have seen this on the news before.

 

[DUCKGIRL89]

Sad story ML what happend to the eggs? I hope the dad sat on them! (lol)

I read a storey where there was a mama mallard, with 1 baby, and it got hit by a car. mama Looked for a week for her baby, then died from unknown causes. I think she was sad!not sure who recorded the.storey, why didnt he help mama thiugh?

 

[Oregon Blues]

I hadn't even thought about it being against the law to capture these Mallards. Yes, it would be against the law to catch or harass wild Mallards. Not that it would have been possible to catch these birds, even if you wanted to.

 

[Goin Quackrrs]

Yesterday I went to the gas station on my lunch break and there was a pair of wild mallards splashing around in a mud puddle in the middle of the parking lot. I was worried that they'd get hit and about 100 yards away is a large pond, so when I came back out, I shoo'ed those ducks towards the pond and away they went!

Why is the world would they choose a nasty gas station mud puddle with a pond right there?