Domestic Mallards

Domestic Female Mallard

What is wrong with this photo?  In the picture is a female duck with young that was photographed during the summer at Kingsley Lake, six miles east of Starke, Florida.  The female duck is a mallard, which is discernable by the blue patch on the outer wing.  The problem is that the above duck is not a wild mallard.  Wild mallards migrate northward during the summer, but domestic mallards that are hatched in captivity do not migrate northward, which within itself is not the problem.  The problem is that the domestic mallard is romantically attracted to the genetically similar and native Florida Mottled Duck.  They will mate with the mottled duck and produce fertile hybrid offspring.  The mottled duck is a reproductively less aggressive duck with a limited and restricted population; consequently, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is concerned that the mottled duck could easily become genetically extinct if the status quo is not reversed.

Further complicating the situation is the fact that the mallard and mottled ducks can be easily confused.  Its dark green head distinctly marks the male mallard. The female mallard and the male and female mottled ducks are quite similar.  The blue patch on its outer wing, as illustrated above, easily distinguishes the female mallard.  The female mottled duck also has a much lighter head than the mallard.  The easiest way to distinguish between the female mallards and female mottled ducks is to observe them during the summer.  Remember that the wild mallards will migrate northward, leaving only the domestic mallards behind.

Also confusing when reading about the issues the fact that domestic mallards are frequently referred to as feral mallards or residential mallards.

To address this issue, the FWC provides control permits to any Floridian interested in trapping, euthanizing or humanly killing the nuisance ducks.  The permit will allow the recipient to take up to 12,000 domestic mallards and destroy up to 6,000 mallard nests yearly.  Conditions of the permits -- which are not described in detail here -- must be closely adhered to.  

The domestic mallards will also reproduce and throw fertile hybrids with Muscovy duck.  Most often these hybrids will show a distinctly different plumage.  These ducks are also subject to harvest by the permit.