Hello
Over the past few days, my mum has had a pair of mallards in her back garden, male and female.
There is no pond in her garden but there is a canal and a lake within about a 5/10 minute walk.
My mum has been feeding them bird feed and giving them water and they have taken a definite liking to the conservatory!
Should we report this to RSPB and is it okay to keep feeding them?
Also, they do fly away overnight but then reappear in the morning.
We just can’t fathom why they’ve chosen my mum’s garden and would welcome any insight and/or advice please. Could they be looking to nest there?
I should also add that they are by no means a problem at all and my mum is enjoying having them, until they poop in the conservatory!
Hi,
No need to report. They're coming to the garden for the food being provided. A few wetland species (moorhen being another example) often crop up away from water. Might be worth bearing in mind mallards also nest in inappropriate places where eggs and ducklings have little chance of making it to water at any stage. Encouraging them might result in that at some point now or in the future.
Thank you for your reply.
My mum told me this morning that the female was actually “knocking” at her conservatory door!
So would you advise to keep feeding them or refrain from feeding them to maybe encourage them to go elsewhere if they are nesting to save any potential ducklings?
It’s very difficult to know what to do for the best and obviously we don’t want to make the wrong decision in case it might have a negative impact on Jemima and Donald!
I'm not the best person to ask! I don't supplementary feed birds. IMO, it's not sustainable, unnecessary (unless targeted at specific locations for species vulnerable species), leads to reliance, and favours those species that do use that extra food over those that don't or rarely do. It also congregates birds in many feeder settings, so increases disease spread. I therefore would definitely stop the feeding anyway. It depends on motives of the feeder.