On 17 Apr 2001, Glenn wrote:

> I was at Snake Lake Nature Center late monday morning and was suprised
> to see a female Mallard with a single duckling. Isn't this a bit early
> for young ones?

In all my records of Mallard hens with ducklings the earliest
sightings, for the most part, are from the first or second week of
May. Exceptions are: 27 April 1980 when I found a female with 4
ducklings on Long Lake, Thurston County; and 14 April 1981 when I
found 2 females, each with a brood of ducklings, also on Long Lake.
But that's simply what I managed to observe -- no telling what I'd of
seen had I been able to get out every day :-)


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Douglas Canning
Olympia, Washington
dcanning at igc.org
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