One day after coming home from work, I was surprised to see these three Mallard working their way through our neighborhood on foot.
I felt that this behavior was a bit unusual because the nearest standing water to our house is only a small creek several hundred yards/meters away. Further, the nearest population of Mallards that I am aware of is at a small lake well over a mile (1.6km) away from our home.
Since this observation I have witness several other instances of the same type of behavior in other areas of our neighborhood. I am still not sure what motivates these Mallards on their trek through our subdivision.
![In this picture the Mallards have worked their way down the side walk and are moving into my front yard.](http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mallard-waddlingthrough-001.jpg)
![As the three Mallards roamed through my yard they worked their way up next to the shrubbery.](http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mallard-waddlingthrough-002.jpg)
![Here is a closeup of the two healthy looking males and their female companion. These birds were general unconcerned by my presence, and allowed me to approach within 10ft/3m or so before shuffling along.](http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mallard-waddlingthrough-003.jpg)
![Here the three Mallards have gathered by one of our rain gutter downspouts to drink from the water that had collected there.](http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mallard-waddlingthrough-004.jpg)
![A short while later, the Mallards moved on continuing their trek down our street.](http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mallard-waddlingthrough-005.jpg)
Observation Details
County | – | Denton |
|
City | – | Carrollton | |
Date | – | May 1, 2006 | |
Time of Day | – | Afternoon | |
Temperature | – | Warm (70-89°F/21-32°C) | |
Weather | – | Partly Cloudy | |
Habitat | – | Residential-Single Family | |
Type of Behavior | – | Roaming | |
Gender | – | Mixed | |
Maturity | – | Adult | |
Observer | – | Chris Jackson | |
Main Article | – | Mallard | Observation Location |