25/11/20 - Mallard to Germany

Perhaps often overlooked and under-appreciated due to their relative abundance and widespread distribution, the drake Mallard is nevertheless a rather attractive duck and a child favourite - hand feeding them at a local park probably sparked a life-long interest in many duck enthusiasts.

Recently, we received a ringing recovery of an adult male, ringed at Wheldrake Ings on 28th April 2011, with only its ring and leg found (presumably left behind by a predator), at Adolfskooger-Sielzug, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, in September 2020. Whilst we’ve had 12 international movements from the 5000+ Mallards ringed to date in the Lower Derwent Valley over the last 30 years, this is the first since 2013, and our first to Germany since 2003.

Numbers of Mallards wintering in the UK have fallen sharply over recent decades, in part thought to be linked to climate change, with birds from further east in Europe now wintering in the Low Countries, rather than continuing into the UK in response to milder winters. Our fall in ringing exchanges between the reserve and the rest of Europe no doubt also supports that shift in winter range, but also demonstrates that there may be more than the eye can see in relationship to our ‘local resident’ Mallard.