Texas Waterfowl

Mallard

53 American Black Ducks are similar in size to Mallards. Both males and females have very dark bodies with lighter heads and necks. They have less buff edging on their body feathers than do Mottled Ducks; thus, they appear considerably darker. Males have yellow bills and females have light olive bills. The American Black Duck population was estimated to number 545,000 in 2011. Their long-term population trend is declining, although their numbers are stable in parts of their breeding range. In western portions of their winter range (that is, in the Mississippi Flyway), their numbers have declined disproportionately more than in the East. SOURCES Stotts and Davis 1960; Bellrose 1980; Jorde and Owen 1990; Longcore et al. 2000; Lockwood and Freeman 2004; NAWMP 2004; USFWS 2011, Johnson and Garrettson 2010. MALLARD* Anas platyrhynchos In Mallards, female body condition and production, or the number of young successfully produced during the breeding season, are correlated to the condition of wetlands used during winter and spring. This means that habitat conditions during winter and spring influence ability of females to successfully raise young. The link between wintering grounds and production reinforces the need to conserve wetlands Mallards use throughout the annual cycle. TEXAS DISTRIBUTION Breeding: Wild Mallards are apt to breed in low densities across most of the state. They are the most abundant breeding duck in the High Plains. In a four-year study during the 1970s, estimated brood production in the High Plains ranged from 696 to 1,528 annually in a 12-county area. Approximately 3,070 Mallards were released near Kingsville in 1962 in an attempt to establish a local breeding population. Only a few were documented nesting in the years that followed, and brood surveys suggested production was very low. Six years after release, the few that remained were associated with farm ponds where supple- *Mexican Ducks, a distinct subpopulation of Mallards, are addressed in their own account, immediately following. dabbling ducks 54 mental feeding occurred year-round. Mallard releases have also been attempted in other parts of the state, including Fannin County. Migration: The start of fall migration is sometimes hard to gauge in the High Plains, because low densities of Mallards occur year-round. Noticeable increases are evident in this area during early October, and fall migration peaks during early November. In the northern Rolling Plains and Post Oak Savannah–Blackland Prairies, migrants begin arriving in early September. In the Coastal Prairies, fall migrants do not appear in large number until November, and their abundance peaks in December and January . Numbers in the Coastal Prairies begin declining in February. Spring migration in the High Plains peaks in late February. Migrants linger in the Rolling Plains and Post Oak Savannah–Blackland Prairies until mid-May. Winter: From 2000 to 2008, Mallards averaged 710,691 during the Texas Mid-winter Waterfowl Survey. The vast majority of Mallards that winter in Texas are found in the High Plains, Post Oak Savannah–Blackland Prairies, and Rolling Plains (TPWD unpublished). Locally substantial to small numbers occur throughout the rest of the state. TEXAS HARVEST From 1999 to 2006, Mallard harvest in Texas averaged 191,120 annually, which was about 4 percent of their annual US harvest. Mallard (female and male). Photograph by Raymond S. Matlack, October 25, 2005, Amarillo, Potter County, Texas. 55 LONGEVITY The life span of adult males and adult females averages 2.1 and 1.6 years, respectively. The longevity record for a wild Mallard is 27 years, seven months. POPULATION STATUS Mallards are the most abundant duck in North America. In 2011 the estimated population was 9.2 million. From 1955 to 2011 their population cycled up and down with wetland conditions, ranging from a low of 5 million to a high of 11.2 million. Mallard numbers are currently above the North American Waterfowl Management Plan objective of 8.2 million. DIET Invertebrates accounted for approximately 72 percent of the diet of breeding Mallards . In contrast, seeds and plant material dominate the diet of migrating and wintering Mallards. Food items consumed by wintering Mallards in Nacogdoches County consisted of 94 percent acorns; in Cherokee County they consisted of 62 percent acorns and 31 percent seeds. Late winter and spring migrants collected in stock ponds in Delta, Hopkins, Hunt, and Lamar Counties consumed 84 percent seeds. Migrating and wintering Mallards in the High Plains typically made both morning and evening field feeding flights...