Minnesota Seasons

Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy

Conservation Status

Photo by Wayne Rasmussen

IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

NatureServe

N5B, N5N - Secure Breeding and Nonbreeding

SNRB, SNRN - Unranked Breeding and Nonbreeding

Minnesota

not listed


	Description
	The patch of colorful feathers on the wing (speculum) is blue and is bordered with white.

	Size
	20″ to 27″in length 35″ wingspan

	Voice


	Similar Species



	Habitat
	Wetlands, open water


	Ecology
	Migration
	March to November

	Nesting


	Food


	Distribution
	Occurrence
	Abundant migrant and breeder

	Maps
	The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map


	Taxonomy
	Class	Aves (birds)
	Order	Anseriformes (waterfowl)
	Family	Anatidae (ducks, geese, and swans)
	Subfamily	Anatinae (dabbling ducks)
	Genus	Anas (mallards, pintails, and allies)

	Subordinate Taxa
	Domestic Duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) Greenland Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos conboschas) Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos)

	Synonyms
	Anas oustaleti

Glossary

Speculum

A brightly colored patch of secondary flight feathers on the wings of many ducks.


	Visitor Photos

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	Bobbi Johnson




	Alfredo Colon










	Margot Avey






	Gerry Garcia




	Norm & Peg Dibble

	Here’s one of many times we experienced a very large flock of Mallards landing in our yard and the two other adjacent ones too looking for the corn that we usually have out there most of the year.
	This was back around 2011 possibly. If we threw out large amounts of whole corn, it was gone in a flash and many of them would not get a bite. Then groups of them would fly away if they did get to eat. So we’d go out and throw more corn around. The ducks would temporarily take off but would circle around and around the area until they felt safe to land again. It was quite a sight and possibly our neighbors were not happy with us. We always wondered if they were from the Shingle Creek area where many spend the winter or if they were flocks that were migrating. We are under the impression that ducks don’t bother migrating from MN really anymore. We are glad that we have been able to keep our Mallard visitors down to only a few pairs now for the past 5 years about. An interesting thing to see in these large flocks of ducks was an occasional all white duck or variations of patterns.

	Duck and Doves, July 2016. So cute!



	Lynn Rubey

	An adult male Mallard in The big Stone Lake in Ortonville, Mn.


	A male Mallard duck in flight over the marsh waters of The Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge.



	Wayne Rasmussen





	Urban parks host a large variety of wildlife if you really spend some time observing.



	Dan W. Andree

	Spring Arrivals They eventually all flew off together.

	"Mallard Ducks" adult male and female in flight... Took the photo early evening April 28, 2018 they were circling near the Sandpiper Prairie SNA in rural Norman Co. Mn.


	Ed Oliveras

	Male


	Female



	Tom Baker





	MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos

	Male


	Leucistic Mallard

Camera


	Slideshows


	Mallard Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren




	Mallard Ed McVicker




	Mallard JMC Nature Photos

slideshow


	Visitor Videos

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	Avi Birds

	Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos) Aug 4, 2020

	About In this video, we take a look at the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)



	Other Videos


	Mallard Duck - HD Mini-Documentary James Knott

	About Uploaded on Mar 10, 2009 http://quickdirt.com is my new mountain biking website. Check it out for more great adventures! Transcript: "The Mallard is found around the world in North America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand and Australia. This waterfowl prefers calm, shallow water in wetlands, small ponds and rivers. The Mallard is a dabbling duck which means that it feeds while floating on the surface of the water as opposed to diving for its meals. It feed mainly on aquatic vegetation, but will also eat insects. This duck, along with the Muscovy Duck, are believed to be the ancestors of all domestic ducks. The male, which is known as a drake, has a distinct green head with a yellowish-orange bill, while the female has a more natural light brown coat and dark brown bill. Mating pairs will stay together until the female lays eggs. soon after, the male will leave. Newly hatched ducklings are precocial which means they can swim and feed themselves from the moment they leave the eggs."



	Baby Mallard Ducks in my Swimming Pool LimeyInSD

	About Uploaded on Jun 19, 2007 In mid June, I came home to find a mother and 8 baby ducklings hanging out in my pool. Estimated to be only a couple of days old, this video is a short documentary from their discovery to their escape/ rescue in the 2 days that they were here



	Nikon P500 Extreme Zoom Test on Mallard Ducks Alley Oop

	About Uploaded on Apr 14, 2011 Check out the extreme 144x zoom lens of the Nikon P500. Not a good sunny day so the scene is a little drab and heat from shooting over my truck engine is causing some atmospheric distortions. But boy-o-boy that is some zoom lens :-)



	Two wild ducks - part 5 kannonim

	About Uploaded on Mar 30, 2007 Two wild ducks (Anas Platyrhynchos) in the ditch again. Taas sinisorsat ojassa.

Camcorder


Visitor Sightings

Report a sighting of this bird.
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Alfredo Colon 9/28/2019	Location: Maplewood Nature Center in Maplewood, MN



Margot Avey 8/20/2019	Location: Westwood Hills Nature Center



Margot Avey 8/8/2019	Location: Westwood Hills Nature Center



Gerry Garcia 8/4/2019	Location: Lyndale Park, Minneapolis, MN



Lynn Rubey 6/22/2019	Location: Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge An adult male Mallard in The big Stone Lake in Ortonville, Mn.



Lynn Rubey 6/19/2019	Location: Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge A male Mallard duck in flight over the marsh waters of The Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge.



Wayne Rasmussen 5/21/2018	Location: Joy Park



Wayne Rasmussen 5/20/2018	Location: Maplewood Nature Center



Dan W. Andree 5/3/2018	Location: rural Norman Co. Mn They eventually all flew off together.



Dan W. Andree 4/28/2018	Location: rural Norman Co. Mn. Took the photo early evening... they were circling near the Sandpiper Prairie SNA



Norm & Peg Dibble July 2016	Location: Maple Grove, MN Duck and Doves, July 2016. So cute!



Wayne Rasmussen 7/5/2016	Location: Maplewood Heights Park



Norm & Peg Dibble 2011	Location: Maple Grove, MN Here’s one of many times we experienced a very large flock of Mallards landing in our yard and the two other adjacent ones too looking for the corn that we usually have out there most of the year. This was back around 2011 possibly. If we threw out large amounts of whole corn, it was gone in a flash and many of them would not get a bite. Then groups of them would fly away if they did get to eat. So we’d go out and throw more corn around. The ducks would temporarily take off but would circle around and around the area until they felt safe to land again. It was quite a sight and possibly our neighbors were not happy with us. We always wondered if they were from the Shingle Creek area where many spend the winter or if they were flocks that were migrating. We are under the impression that ducks don’t bother migrating from MN really anymore. We are glad that we have been able to keep our Mallard visitors down to only a few pairs now for the past 5 years about. An interesting thing to see in these large flocks of ducks was an occasional all white duck or variations of patterns.



Ed Oliveras 2/4/2005	Location: Lake Rebecca Park



Wayne Rasmussen 4/23/2003	Location: Maplewood Heights Park Urban parks host a large variety of wildlife if you really spend some time observing.



MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings

Blaine Preserve SNA Blaine Wetland Sanctuary Blazing Star Prairie Boot Lake SNA Brownsville, MN Butternut Valley Prairie SNA Cannon River Trout Lily SNA Cannon River Wilderness Area Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center Carver Park Reserve Chamberlain Woods SNA Clear Lake SNA Cleary Lake Regional Park Clifton E. French Regional Park Clinton Falls Dwarf Trout Lily SNA Crosstown West Park Des Moines River SNA Dodge Nature Center Earley Lake Elm Creek Park Reserve Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park Fort Snelling State Park Glacial Lakes Preserve Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge Grey Cloud Dunes SNA Hamden Slough NWR Joy Park Kasota Prairie Keller Regional Park Kilen Woods State Park Lake Rebecca Park Lake Rebecca Park Reserve Lebanon Hills Regional Park Maplewood Heights Park Maplewood State Park Mary Schmidt Crawford Woods SNA Miller Prairie, East Unit Minnesota Valley NWR, Long Meadow Lake Unit Minnesota Valley NWR, Louisville Swamp Unit Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area, Lawrence Unit Moose Lake State Park Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve Myre-Big Island State Park Ney Nature Center North Mississippi Regional Park Otter Tail Prairie SNA Pine Bend Bluffs SNA Point Douglas Park Rice Lake State Park Rieck’s Lake Park and Campground (Alma, Wisconsin) Ritter Farm Park Sakatah Lake State Park Savage Fen SNA Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge Shetek WMA, East Unit Sibley State Park Spring Lake Regional Park Springbrook Nature Center Stanley Eddy Memorial Park Reserve Sunfish Lake Park Tamarack Nature Center Thompson County Park Twin Lakes SNA Westwood Hills Nature Center Whitetail Woods Regional Park Wood-Rill SNA Woodland Trails Regional Park