: and especially around towns and villages where they receive supplemental food. Broods are often seen Jun-Jul along the Bar Harbor waterfront. Migrants frequent freshwater ponds and marshes such as Hamilton Pond and Bass Harbor Marsh. Southwest Harbor and the Mill Pond in Somesville support sizable numbers in . on salt water away from human settlements.
Miscellany: Prior to 1900, Mallard bred only in central and Western North America, and up to the 1960s, they were only occasional visitors here and had never nested. By the mid 1990s they were everywhere. The species' expansion east was thought due in part to the widespread release of captive Mallards for hunting but the species' robustness and high tolerance of varied foods, habitats and especially humans seems likely to have played an important role as well.
Last Updated: April 27th, 2022