What kind of duck is this? Such a cutie! Update: 11/24

[xxSonja]

That there is a rather handsome Bantam White Mallard.
I breed them here in Australia.
Are your sure its a male? I cant see the pic clearly as im on my phone. does he have a drake feather?
If you here a very loud 'whak whak whak' its a girl, the girls are usually quiet unless they want something or have a bee in their bonnet about something lol
but anyway, He looks to be a young but mature bird so my guess is that he is an escapee or he has been run off by a more dominate drake in someones flock. Or he may have been dumped as an excess male they couldnt find a home for.
I doubt he is a truely wild bird, the pure whites dont seem to last very long on their own in the wild, they stick out like a sore thumb and are easy prey.
They are great flyers so they can cover quite a distance easily. So he may not be immediatly local, tho if he's young and shy he probably hasnt gone too far from home.

 

[Birdcrazy]

He is a beauty!
And xxSonja yes he's a he, on the computer and can see that little curl quite clearly

Very pretty boy!!

 

[dawnjoennikki98]

Totally off topic, sorry......but Ducklover1, do you have more pics of your blue swedish? I have blue swedish too.

 

[sourland]

Body type screams white mallard.

 

[desertdarlene]

Wow, thanks for all the responses. Yes, he does have a drake feather. He's doing very, very well there, but I am concerned because he's white and small. We have pekins, both jumbo and regular, but they are much larger.

I think he's been at this lake for about a month and checked on by a few people every day and fed at least once a day. He's behaving much like the other mallard drakes and does a lot of the predator evasion things that they do.

I'm putting out alerts about this guy as I'm sure someone would want him if they can catch him. The ducks around there are wise to nets and other "tricks" to catch them (I know because be we try to catch them for fishing line injuries).

I mostly worry about the stray cats and our winter falcons. We do have raccoons, foxes and coyotes there (as well as people who let their dogs run loose, though they're not supposed to), but he rarely goes in those areas.

 

[desertdarlene]

I contacted a rescuer yesterday to see if she could come pick up this duck as I was afraid the cats and hawks would get it. But, I was pretty much told that unless he's hurt, there's nothing that can be done. HOWEVER, if anyone wants to catch and can keep him from flying away, they're welcome to do so.

Right now, he's relatively tame and still low on the pecking order, so he might be easier to catch and keep. I don't know what he's going to be like in a few months, though, when he's made solid wild duck friends and is higher in social rank.

They said that it has become the fashion to breed white mallards during the last few years and they're great fliers, so he probably came there on his own.

If you want an update on him or want to know how to find him, PM me.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I hope the little guy makes it he's beautiful. Looks like you have just about every breed there is at your lake.

 

[destinduck]

we got about a dozen here wild. We can take them if want but each year there is a few that make it. The pelicans and blue herons gobble up most of them

 

[desertdarlene]

Yeah, we have herons and we sometimes get pelicans, but they don't bother the adult ducks, even the small ones. They will go after ducklings. Luckily, they didn't get too many this year as far as I know.

He seems to have grown a little since he got here as he's almost as big as the other mallards.

 

[destinduck]

thats what i meant ducklings. I wouldnt want to mess with any blue heron or pelican that could eat a grown duck.