Duck Creek Conservation Area is located nine miles north of Puxico on Highway 51 in Stoddard, Bollinger and Wayne counties.The Missouri Department of Conservation purchased the land for the area in 19
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Scientific Name
Anas platyrhynchos
Family
Anatidae (ducks, geese, swans) in the order Anseriformes
Description
Adult male (drake) mallards are easily identified by their green head, chestnut breast, gray body, black back, and white-bordered blue speculum, which is the wing patch located on the secondary feathers. The females (hens) are brownish with an orange bill with dark saddle markings. Male vocalizations include a loud graeb-graeb or a whistle. Female vocalizations include a descending quacking sound (the males don’t quack) and various softer kegs and hey-hey-heys.
Similar species: The American black duck (A. rubripes) is an uncommon migrant or winter resident in Missouri. It has very dark brown body feathers, a light brown head, a greenish bill, and a purple speculum.
Size
Length: 23 inches (tip of bill to tip of tail).
Where To Find
Statewide.
Habitat and Conservation
Common migrant on lakes, rivers, ponds, and marshes. Locally uncommon summer resident, nesting along lakeshores and in marshes statewide. Very common in winter, even during severely cold weather when most other waterfowl migrate farther south. Mallards are perhaps the most common “dabbling duck” or “puddle duck” in America. They dip their heads underwater, the tail pointed up, and don’t dive. They can take flight directly from the water’s surface without needing a running start.
Food
Forages for seeds, grass, aquatic vegetation, and invertebrates on lakes, rivers, ponds, and marshes. Mallards and other dabbling ducks forage in shallow water by tipping forward so the head is underwater and the tail points up (and not by diving completely underwater).
Status
Common transient and winter resident; uncommon summer resident.
Life Cycle
Life Cycle
Mallards form pairs in fall. The females make nests and lay eggs in early spring. Nests are usually built on the ground of grasses, twigs, and other vegetation, and are lined with down from the mother’s breast. Clutches comprise 1–13 eggs; incubation lasts 23–30 days. Newly hatched chicks are covered with down and can follow their mother around within a day. The males undergo a molt in late spring that leaves them flightless, drab, and secretive for about a month; this is called “eclipse plumage.”
Human Connections
Mallards are also very familiar to people in Eurasia, for they eagerly take handouts of bread at lakes in public parks throughout the Northern Hemisphere. They have been hunted for thousands of years and are the parent species that most domestic ducks were bred from.
Ecosystem Connections
Mallards are so widespread and successful that some of their far-flung populations have diverged enough genetically that they may be considered not just separate subspecies, but separate species. They also may breed with closely related duck species, resulting in hybrid offspring that can be hard to identify.
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Male and female mallard.
Credit
Noppadol Paothong
Right to Use
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Caption
In Missouri, the mallard is a common migrant and winter resident on lakes, rivers, ponds, and marshes.
Credit
Noppadol Paothong
Right to Use
Image
Caption
Upon hatching, mallard chicks are covered with down and can follow their mother around within a day.
Credit
Jim Rathert
Right to Use
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Caption
Female mallards make nests and lay eggs in early spring.
Credit
Jim Rathert
Right to Use
Image
Caption
Mallards can take flight directly from the water’s surface without needing a running start.
Credit
Noppadol Paothong
Right to Use
Image
Right to Use
Image
Caption
Mallards are perhaps the most common “dabbling duck” or “puddle duck” in America.
Credit
Jim Rathert
Right to Use
Image
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Similar Species
Similar Species
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Where to See Species
This area is named after the late Dr. Ralph Perry and his wife, Martha, who donated both land and money to create the conservation area.
This area is mainly forested with 120 acres of field management.This area has unimproved roads that are open to public vehicles. These roads may not be shown on area maps or posted with signs.
The Upper Mississippi Conservation Area, rich in wildlife and habitat diversity, stretches from the Melvin Price Lock and Dam at Alton, Illinois, to LaGrange, Missouri.
The Conservation Department purchased 366 acres in 1965 to preserve unique wetlands and habitats associated with the Missouri River and to provide public lands and recreational opportunities in northw
About Birds in Missouri
About 350 species of birds are likely to be seen in Missouri, though nearly 400 have been recorded within our borders. Most people know a bird when they see one — it has feathers, wings, and a bill. Birds are warm-blooded, and most species can fly. Many migrate hundreds or thousands of miles. Birds lay hard-shelled eggs (often in a nest), and the parents care for the young. Many communicate with songs and calls.