09/04/2026
Fun Fact Friday!🦆🪶
If you’ve been around the marsh recently, you may be wondering, “What are all these female mallards doing here?” And what’s with all the feathers?
Some of those brown ducks may actually be this year’s young males! Mallard ducklings hatch covered in down, and as they grow, both males and females develop mostly mottled-brown juvenile plumage. This camouflage helps young ducks blend into their surroundings while they’re still growing.
By late summer and early fall, young mallards begin molting, replacing their juvenile feathers with new adult plumage. This is when the males, or drakes, start becoming easier to pick out as their green heads, chestnut-colored chests, gray bodies, and curled black tail feathers begin to appear. Females, or hens, keep their mottled-brown coloring into adulthood.
But there’s another reason you might be seeing so many brown mallards! After breeding season, adult males molt into eclipse plumage, temporarily replacing their bright breeding colors with duller brown feathers that make them look much more like females. The marsh is booming with mallards right now, come check them out!
