Jemima Mallard

This website relates a true story of how a wild Mallard duck, Jemima, came into our lives for a couple of years and left a little legacy.

It tells of how she turned up in our garden during the UK's first coronavirus pandemic lockdown in 2020, acting very strangely, then appearing suddenly with 10 little ducklings and how we captured and released them at a local nature reserve.

It outlines her return to nest during 2021 while we were in the UK's second pandemic lockdown, laying 14 eggs and starting to incubate them. Sadly, Jemima's own story ends at this point after she was killed by a fox while on her nest. The tale continues with the saga of how we took her eggs, finished incubating them and raised 13 darling ducklings till they either flew back to nature or us releasing them at a local nature reserve.

It may well not be the right way to hatch, brood, raise and wild ducklings but it is the tale of how we did it successfully and may be of some use to some who find themselves in a similar situation. We also think is a good story that brought us, our friends, neighbours and acquaintances some well needed joy and hope in an exceedingly difficult time for both ourselves and the rest of the world.

The site provides links to advice pages we found helpful and to duck rescue and rehabilitation services in the UK