Ducks

[Emz26]

When ducks are flying and when they come to land, do they only ever land on the ground or in water or do they ever land in trees?

[coco pops]

I don't think they could land in trees because they always seem to skid to a stop.

[teash]

Only if they cant see or or shot :) ducks arn`t pearchers so landing in a tree would be pointless

[Thunderbird+]

I agree with coco pops, their webbed feet are far better adapted fof landing on water but this time of the year i've seen mallard ducks in some of the most unusual places including roof tops etc. Mostly this is due to the male and females pairing up and a lot of competition from rival males, so often they are looking for somewhere quiet.

The pretty Mandarin duck however is unusual in that they nest in tree holes.

[cat woman]

Talking about ducks, where I work there is a pond and over the last 6 weeks the ducks have been pairing up and even to the extent of trying to mate on our garage forecourt, bit dicey with cars pulling in and out!.......... Yesterday there was a nice surprise of a mother duck and 8 ducklings trouping along, ( really sweet ), we had all this last year and its so nice to see, I just hope they all survive as its quite cold at night. X X X :-)

[Emz26]

Thank you. Was just curious, because in all my 26 years, I can't recall ever seeing a duck in a tree!!

[Clanad]

Au contraire! We have 4 pairs of Wood Ducks (Aix Sponsa) that have been nesting in trees behind our house on the river in the western U.S. for the last 5 years or so. They nest in knot holes, however we put up wooden or metal nesting boxes for them. They land and perch in the trees. They must nest near water since, when the ducklings are hatched, they sort of fall-fly out of the nest and immediately jump in the water near their parents. Don't believe it? Here's some pictures and descriptions. They very small but quite colorful:
http://ecdphoto.addr.com/wd/18.html
http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek050215.html
http://www.stolaf.edu/academics/naturallands/w etlands/waterfowl/woodduck.html
http://www.flickr.mud.yahoo.com/photos/kenilio /134380279/in/set-72057594093925717/

By the way, they aren't related to the Mandarin Thunderbird describes...

[wolf63]

Coming back from the park one day I saw a policeman escorting mummy duck and her line of babies towards the pond - they had come from the centre of town, so I am not too sure where she laid her eggs. But one of the babies fell down a drain. I was upset for days

[Emz26]

Thanks for the pictures Clanad, they are great!
Wolf63, I saw something similar in the next village along last summer (minus the policeman!) A mother duck was randomly walking down the street with her babies in tow. Two teenage boys were escorting them along to stop them wandering in to the road and getting squashed! Thankfully they avoided a drain, that would upset me too!