Mallard

Although we are used to seeing Mallards in city parks all year, many of these birds have never eaten a morsel of bread and have a completely different life history. They migrate large distances, breeding as far north as the north coast of Alaska.

Every winter, after flying south from their breeding grounds, thousands of Mallards spend winter on the Fraser River delta.

They are omnivores, feeding on seeds, vegetation, worms, and other invertebrates on farm land including fields planted with Winter Cover Crops.

They are the largest of the dabbling ducks, weighing two and a half pounds. Males only have their distinctive green head during October to May; during the rest of the year they look very similar to the brown females.