At fuller park in meridian a mallard duck had laid her eggs underneath a slide in the playground.Today a greens keeper removed the eggs and tried to relocate the hen mallard and her eggs,but with no luck the hen didn't follow and the eggs are gone now. My question is, is it unlawful to remove waterfowl eggs? And if so how do you relocate waterfowl eggs legally?
Answer:
Mallard ducks are classified as waterfowl and are a protected migratory bird. But wild mallards would not nest under a playground slide. Without seeing the bird , I would guess the mallard was a domestic release or a crossbreed.
Typical duck behavior would be to build a nest away from people in a grassy area where the nest is hidden from predators (people included). Under normal situations (wild bird) the nest would be protected from distrubance, and it would be unlawful to move the nest.
Answered on:
Friday, May 30, 2014 - 1:15 PM MDT