(WWJ) It's duckling season in Michigan, and you can do your part to make sure it's all that it's quacked up to be.
Over the next few weeks, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources says mallard ducklings will be hatching all across the state — following their mothers to marshes, ponds and streams on their tiny webbed feet.
For most mallard families, this process goes off without a hitch. But every year, the DNR says it gets calls asking for help to relocate broods of ducklings from buildings and roofs to nearby wetlands.
According to Karen Cleveland, a DNR game biologist, it’s illegal to capture ducks and transport them to a new location, but when a bird is trapped in – or on – a building, it is legal to help move them outside so they can leave on their own. Fortunately, this is usually easy to do when a duck nests in an enclosed courtyard or on a flat roof, because mallard hens won’t easily abandon their ducklings, and ducklings will follow their mothers closely.
"Your first choice, if at all possible, should be to avoid trying to catch the ducks," Cleveland said, in a release by the DNR on Thursday. "Mallard families can be gently herded by one or two people following them and can be led into buildings, down hallways and outside. This often takes only a couple of minutes, and then they’ll be on their way."
When the nest is on a roof or other place that can’t safely be walked out of, the DNR says the best things to do is to gentry collect the ducklings into a box or bag. Then take the box or bag outside and place it on the ground as close to the nest location as possible. Wait 40 to 50 feet away until you see the mother duck return to investigate the container the ducklings are in. Quietly approach and tip it over so the ducklings can get out, and then back off so the hen can come back and collect her brood.
Keep in mind that female mallards often build nests in landscaping, gardens or other locations that may come as a surprise.
In the event that you find a chick outside on the ground that is sparsely feathered, it may have accidentally fallen from the nest before it is ready to fledge (learn to fly). If you know where the nest is, you can put the chick back in the nest only if you can do so safely.
Michiganders should remember that mallards, their nests and their eggs are protected by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and must be left alone. Unless you have a license, the DNR says taking a baby bird or eggs from the wild is breaking the law.
Only licensed wildlife rehabilitators may possess abandoned or injured wildlife. Unless a person is licensed, it is illegal to possess a live wild animal, including birds, in Michigan.
Learn more about Michigan wildlife from the DNR at this link. Find all you need to know about the rules for duck hunting in Michigan, here.
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