Posted by Beth Johnston on April 1, 2007

Q: Is there anything I can do to protect a mallard duck nest from squirrels? We have a nest in the yard. The female has laid 8 eggs so far, but squirrels had eaten two of them.

Habitat: suburban/yard

State: Ohio

Habitat: suburban/yard

A: Boy, this is a new one on me. I know that squirrels will eat birds' eggs now and then but didn't realize they'd eat any as large as a duck's egg. Are you sure they're squirrels and not a skunk, Opossum, or Raccoon?

As far as I can figure, you're just going to have to let nature take its course. I'd guess that if a predator has found the Mallard's nest, it will return again and again to eat more eggs so the nest will probably be cleaned out. The only hope I can give is that the female will renest elsewhere and pull off a clutch later - Mallards will often do this. I'm always amazed that ANY of the ground-nesting birds are able to raise young with the large number of predators around. Sorry I can't give you a pat answer but that's the best I can do.

John Wiessinger ( April 1, 2007)