Expert: Roger Lederer - 4/21/2008

Question
We have a small pond in our yard in central Minnesota.  For several years now a pair of mallards has flown in and made the pond their home from the begining of April until about June.  The female keeps laying eggs in the pond.  About every 3-4 days I pull another egg off the bottom of the pond.  Why is she doing this and is there anything we can do to get her to lay them on land?  They haven't built a nest and to my untrained eye, there are lots of materials around to build a nest out of.

Answer
Are you sure she is laying eggs in the pond. This is very unusual, if true. Could it be another bird? If you are sure it is the mallard female, then it certainly an abberant situation. Laying an egg every 3-4 days is also unusual; it should be one egg every day. They do not need much to build a nest from, so I can't suggest anything. If the pond is too close to your house, the female is too intimidated to do anything else. Without knowing the exact situation, I can't speculate any further.