Date: 7/7/26 1:18 am From: Michael Price via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] M Street Marsh, 7.4.26
Hi Marv and Tweets
I can confirm Mallard piscivory. The two ponds at Jericho Park in Vancouver BC are separated by a narrow neck overarched by a small arched wooden bridge. Depth of water below the bridge at the time was about 4 ft/1.2 m, and the water at time of observation was clear.
One summer afternoon in the late Eighties, I noticed a female Mallard with three ducklings about 2 weeks old almost directly below the bridge. What caught my attention was that the ducklings were repeatedly jump-diving. Standing almost directly above them, I saw all three ducklings repeatedly dive to the bottom to feed on the carcass of a dead carp, each one spending about five seconds worrying flesh off the carcass before returning to the surface to breathe, sometimes still trying to swallow chunks of carp. This went on for nearly ten minutes before the duck led her young away. Though I returned numerous times and saw the same female with her young, I never saw this behavior again, nor have I ever seen it since.
Subsequently, I learned that Mallard ducklings are fully capable of diving to feed on the bottom until they begin secreting waterproofing oils at about five to six weeks of age.
best, m
Michael Price Vancouver BC Canada <loblollyboy...>
