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Living rent free in an unoccupied eagle nest sits a mother mallard duck and her soon-to-be hatched ducklings.

The nest this mother found is a second home to eagles that are the primary stars of the 

Department of Natural Resource’s EagleCam

DNR staff spotted her on April 13 nestled into the abandoned nest. Only a few days later, they learned she was not alone as she incubated an unknown number of eggs.

On camera they can see four eggs she is keeping warm but are unable to tell if there are any underneath. She could potentially lay as many as 11. 

Elizabeth Nault-Maurer of the DNR is beyond surprised with the sight. 

“I am very excited about the DuckCam,” she said, using the amended name for the DNR’s livestream. “I love ducks, so this has been a delightful surprise for me personally,” Nault-Maurer said.

This mama is paving her own way by taking up home in the nest since mallards aren’t commonly found doing this. 

“I have to say, this is a first for me. I’ve heard of Canada geese taking over both eagles nest,” she said. “There’s actually a nest in Iowa that was kind of permanently taken over by a Canada geese family. But no, I have not heard of a mallard duck moving in before.”

Mallards practice delayed incubation. She lays one egg a day for a number of days, but the eggs all hatch the same time. The entire incubation process typically takes 28 days. 

The DNR expects the eggs to hatch around May 15. 

When they hatch, the mother will lead her ducklings out of the nest and to water. Since she has laid the eggs in a nest above ground, the baby ducks will have quite the adventure getting down. The exact height of the nest is unknown, but the DNR believes it is at least 30 feet off the ground. But don’t worry, like most species’ babies, the ducks should bounce back, literally. 

“Mallard ducks are very resilient. They're very lightweight, so they should not be damaged when they jump from the nest and land to the ground. It is very likely that they will survive that jump,” Nault-Maurer said. 

Mallards’ nests are usually on the ground or in shrubs and need much less space than eagles. A bald eagle’s wingspan is nearly 8 feet, while a mallard’s is only about 3 feet.

“This is definitely a mansion of a nest for this mallard. They are used to smaller nests, probably closer to the ground,” she said. 

The eagles that once lived in the newly claimed Mallard home still live nearby. They built a second nest within a couple hundred feet of their former nest. With that in mind, the DNR advises caution to anybody watching the camera that anything can happen, since these are animals in the wild. 

The mallard does blend into the nest, Nault-Maurer says. And she hides the eggs in the mornings and afternoons when she goes out for food. The DNR anticipates the eagles will be kept busy taking care of their two eaglets. 

The camera where the mallard resides was set up last year. 

“I wasn’t sure that anything was going to top the season where our nest fell out of the tree. But I have to say this has," Nault-Maurer said. "There’ve been so many twists and turns this Eagle Cam season, I think this is our most unique one today.”

Anika Besst

Author

A mallard duck has made her and her handful of eggs at home in an unoccupied bald eagle’s nest. The DNR expects the eggs to hatch around May 15.

‘A mansion of a nest’: Mallard mama takes up residence in unused eagle nest

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