At the tail end of a tough season on the breeding grounds, the appearance of small groups of drake mallards is a characteristic signal that the nesting season is winding down. Like most ducks, drake mallards find their mates in the fall or over winter, then follow their chosen hen back to the area in which she was hatched, or where she nested the previous year. The hen sets up house-keeping usually in a familiar environment, although droughts, floods and other events can influence where she may choose to settle. In early spring, the mallard drake’s role is to maintain a territory where his mate will feed to fuel the nesting effort. Most often, the nest is located nearby. The drake has a busy time in spring, fending off amorous single drakes, and other mallard pairs that might try to settle in the area.

Staying alert for predators while his mate feeds, and watching out for intruding pairs, are two big responsibilities of a drake mallard during the egg-laying and the early incubation periods of the nesting cycle. When incubation is in full-swing, drakes are torn between defending their hen from harassing drakes, who rove the countryside looking for re- nesting females, and checking out any apparently re-nesting female neighbors, in need of his obviously superior genetic material. All of this leaves the average male mallard with too little time to eat and relax, when in the company of his favorite consort.

As the breeding season progresses, an interesting change overtakes the drake mallard. Anytime his mate is out on the pond with him, away from the nest for a quick daily snack, he is a vigilant defender of her virtue, willing to take on any and all drakes that may stray into the area. However, as soon as she returns to the nest, the drake immediately adopts a more tolerant attitude toward his erstwhile competitors, and falls easily into a period of loafing, sleeping and feeding in the company of neighboring drakes.

Associations of two drakes or more occur as the nesting season continues. With hens incubating eggs for longer and longer periods, the drake gradually loses interest in her and wanders further from home base. At the beginning of incubation, groups of two neighboring drakes, sharing the same loafing area, are common. These are sexually active drakes, and should a female stray within view, they will try to force their attentions upon her. By the time incubation is well underway, the number of loafing companions may reach five or more. By this time, the drake’s sexual interest is waning rapidly. As the breeding season draws to a close, its time for the drakes to kick-back, and take life a little less seriously. The first signs of molt appear in the flashy mallard breeding plumage, and in a short time, the drakes will leave for the summer molt and not return.

The drakes in Fred’s photo haven’t lost interest in hens yet, but their association is announcing to all of the world, that the nesting season has reached at least the half-way point, their hens are incubating a clutch of eggs on a nest nearby, and for the short time being, well….life as a mallard drake is good.