Reproduction

Female Mottled Duck and her Ducklings

Florida mottled ducks nest from February through July. The females tend to locate their nests in dense vegetation (tall grasses, rushes or palmetto thickets) on the ground near water. The nest is built of vegetation and is lined with down. Only 1 brood each year is raised and females typically lay 8-10 eggs called a clutch. The eggs are creamy-white to greenish-white and are incubated within 25 to 27 days.

Unlike such birds as the mockingbird or blue jay, which raise their young in the nest for weeks, mottled duck females will move their ducklings to water within 24 to 48 hours of hatching. Young mottled ducks are capable of flight at 60 to 70 days of age.