A few birds from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
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Mallard Duck:Mallard Duck Ukulkatagpak Have you ever wondered where domestic ducks originated? Well, the Mallard is the answer. This common duck is the ancestor of all breeds of domestic ducks except the Muscovy. It is probably the best known and most abundant wild duck in the northern hemisphere, including Alaska. It is also one of the few duck species that will remain here all winter if it has a dependable source of open water and food. If you ever visited the Chena River near Pioneer Park in Fairbanks during the midwinter months, you've seen these ducks. The same in Anchorage at Westchester Lagoon. When I lived on the Lower Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta I never saw them winter over, but I imagine somewhere somebody has observed them there. The Mallard is one hardy bird. For hunters everywhere, they are also a very tasty bird. That's why they have the Yupik name they do. Ukulkatagpak, the Yukon name for Mallard, means something like "really fatty big duck." It has many other names from other areas in the Lower Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta that relate to both its fatness and its usefulness to humans. In Hooper Bay they call the duck Yuukaq and Yuukarpak, and in Norton Sound they use these terms plus lyukarpak and Uqsurtaq. Kuskokwim villages use the terms Uqsuqaq and Uqsuqerpak. Undoubtedly there are others I haven't mentioned. All of which goes to show how universal and well known the duck is in southwest Alaska. While we're on names, the scientific name for the Mallard is Anas platyrhynchos, meaning flat-nosed duck. The common name Mallard comes from the Old French word, maslard, relating to "maleness." Masle means "male." With its glossy green head and chestnut breast, the male Mallard is notably different from other male duck species. Although the female is a plain brown color, her loud quack, quack-quack, quack, quack-quack while swimming makes her unmistakable from other species. Mallards are dabbling ducks, which means they feed in shallow ponds and rivers by reaching below the surface and grabbing vegetation off the bottom with their bills. You've probably seen them tipping up their tails to further extend their range. When necessary, they can also dive for food in deeper water. In addition to bottom plants, they will eat snails, crustaceans, aquatic insects, tadpoles, small fish and fish eggs. They also forage on grass and grain seed, and some of you may even have seen them scavenging on dead salmon. Something you've probably noticed about Mallards is that when they take off they fly up vertically from the water or land. This is a trait other dabbling ducks like pintails and teal have. They also favor fresh water at all seasons. Rarely will you see them on salt water. Males and females do their courting and form pair bonds during fall and winter, so they are already paired by the time they reach their nesting grounds in spring. Courting displays by the male include dipping his bill in the water and then rearing up, whistling and grunting as he settles back on the water; raising his head and tail while giving sharp calls; and plunging the front of his body deep in the water and then flinging up water with his bill. All very dramatic. Once on the breeding ground, the male accompanies the female as she seeks and chooses a site for her nest. The site may be more than a mile from fresh water, but is usually closer to water and on the ground among concealing vegetation. The nest is a shallow bowl of leaves and grasses, lined with down plucked by the female from her own body. The female lays 7-15 whitish to olive buff-colored eggs and incubates them by herself for almost a month. A week or so after all the eggs have been laid and incubation begins in earnest the male leaves the nesting territory and joins other male flocks. Since Mallards are only seasonally monogamous, this is the last the male and female will see of each other. They will find new mates in the coming year. Within a day after hatching, the downy young leave the nest and are led to the nearest water by their mother. Although they are tended by her, she does not feed them. They are already programmed to feed themselves. As they grow older and bigger they become more independent, until finally two months after hatching they take their first clumsy flight. They are now completely on their own. Since Mallards are bottom feeders, they sometimes pick up spent lead shot. Even one of these shot will poison them and probably end up killing them. In any case, they are still one of the most abundant duck species in the world. There is a long list of other duck species with which the Mallard has crossbred and produced hybrids, including pintails and captive domestic ducks. When you find an odd-looking specimen that doesn't quite fit the pattern you're used to, go to your bird book and check it out for its mixed parentage. Then report it to the Audubon Society in Bethel or Anchorage.  |
