Question:I work at a retail store with no water around. A mama duck has laid her eggs under a shrub and on mulch. We work in a high traffic area. How will she get these ducks to safety? Can I move them to a park now or when they hatch? She has 6 very large eggs.
Answers:
You can not move them now. "All native birds are protected by the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It is illegal for any person to possess nesting material, egg(s), feathers, bones or a live bird without the proper permits from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. It is also illegal to harm or kill a protected bird species and it is illegal to remove or destroy nesting material. The law does not protect three birds, they are; Pigeon (rock dove), English house sparrow and the European starling. Once a nest is established (first egg laid), it is illegal to destroy it. Never remove eggs or young from the nest."
http://www.willowbrookwildlife.org/guide...
The same website explains: "After the last egg hatches, the female takes her young to water within 24 hours. This trip can be up to 1 mile." Hopefully, momma duck knew what she was doing when she nested in that spot. However, if there are some other duck-friendly workers at your store, you might all want to get together and escort momma and babies on their trek to the water. The incubation period for the mallard eggs is approx. 23 days, so you need to keep a close eye on the nest.
Do not attempt to gather the babies after they are hatched and take them to a water source (lake, pond, stream), as the mother will never find them. If she and most of the babies leave, but one or two are accidentally left behind, you need to contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. You can find one here: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.
You can't just take the baby and put it back with momma and the other babies, or with a mother who has babies of similar age - reuniting and forstering mallards does not work, and the baby will be rejected. Since baby ducks are not waterproof until they are about 7-8 weeks old (before that, momma provides the waterproofing as oils from her feathers transfer to the babies while she grooms them), it will not survive on its own.
Call animal control.
Marge has got it, besides she's knows what she is doing and have you never seen a mama duck completely stop traffic no matter how busy as her little ones cross the roads?
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