Early Spring is a feisty time for male mallard ducks. In March female ducks will nest and lay their eggs while the males stand by to protect them. As March approaches single males get more desperate to sire a clutch and seek out any females that appear unattached - this is when tensions can flare and males fight for the attention of the females.
I was with my daughter in Stourhead, Wiltshire, watching the ducks in the picturesque lake, when I noticed a pair of males in head-lock as a female watched on. The fight went on for at least 10 minutes as the females grazed around them, and occasionally looked on to see what all the kerfuffle was about.
I was with my daughter in Stourhead, Wiltshire, watching the ducks in the picturesque lake, when I noticed a pair of males in head-lock as a female watched on. The fight went on for at least 10 minutes as the females grazed around them, and occasionally looked on to see what all the kerfuffle was about.