Everyone can share their duckling sightings with a University of Essex research project to learn more about the UK’s most common duck – the mallard. While mallards are a common sight across the UK, our breeding population has declined by around 5% since the mid 1990s. Improving scientists’ understanding of mallard ecology, from their preferred habitats and breeding success to their migration patterns, is important to ensure we effectively conserve this species.

Find out more and submit your sightings from the DucklingWatch project page.

One gap in our knowledge of mallard ecology is the survival rate of their ducklings – this is the proportion of ducklings that survive to adulthood. This has not been directly studied in the UK but is key to understanding what drives changes in mallard populations. In this project, the University of Essex are hoping members of the public across the UK can help collect vital data which will allow them to calculate the mallard duckling survival rate.

Anyone can take part, no matter your level of bird knowledge. All you need to do is keep an eye out for broods of mallard ducklings in spring and take a note of how many you saw. The team are particularly eager for people to send multiple records of the same brood – this is important as it allows them to track how many ducklings have survived in a brood. Broods of ducklings tend to stay in the same place for the first few weeks of life, so if you have a local pond, river or lake you visit regularly, keep your eyes peeled for ducklings hanging around the same spot.