Latest news with #mallard
Telegraph
14-05-2025
- Telegraph
Duck caught by Swiss speed camera for the second time
When traffic police in the Swiss town of Koeniz sifted through the latest batch of speeding offenders, they couldn't believe what they were seeing: it had happened again. For the second time in seven years, a wild duck had raced past the camera at 32mph, breaking the 20mph speed limit and setting off the flash. The mallard, which was described by the town council as 'a notorious speeder and repeat offender' was caught flying low through Oberwangen, on Wangentalstrasse on April 13, 'probably in a hurry'. 'We know this for sure because she was picked up and flashed by the radar at that moment,' the town council said. Remarkably, it is believed it to be the same duck caught travelling at the same speed in the same location on the same date seven years earlier. The council said: 'Colleagues at the police inspectorate were astonished when they looked at a radar camera image from April 13 2025. A duck had indeed been caught in the speed trap again. Seven years to the day later, at the exact same spot and at exactly the same speed.' The previous incident made headlines around the world in 2018. Police denied that the images could have been fabricated. The town council said: 'According to the police inspectorate, it's impossible that the image or the radar system were tampered with. The computers are calibrated and tested annually ... and the photos are sealed.' It added: 'We hope you enjoy pondering curious coincidences, criminal activities of animals and the maximum flight speed of ducks.' Speeding in Switzerland involves strict penalties. Exceeding the limit by more than 20kph (12mph) in a non-built up area can lead to a fine of 240 Swiss Francs (£214). Much faster, and the driver can be charged with a criminal offence. At higher altitudes, mallards fly at between 40mph and 60mph, according to Ducks Unlimited, the American charity. The fastest a mallard has ever been recorded flying was 103mph. The animal in question was migrating across southern Minnesota and south-east North Dakota in April last year, helped by strong tailwinds.
The Guardian
12-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Country diary: Saluting the endurance of a brooding mallard
Before my month-long watch of the mallard nesting in my garden, I hadn't appreciated the feat of endurance it takes for a duck to incubate eggs. The mallard I wrote about last month laid more than half her own body weight in eggs over 10 days in the flower bed outside my window. She then spent 31 days sitting on the nest with just two hours' break a day. These were long, hot days with little chance to drink, feed or poo. Before flying off, she tugged moss or grass over the eggs. What had seemed an open place to nest became camouflaged by leaf patterns as plants grew. Unlike the secretive woodcock that nested in this same border two years ago, her wings clattered as she took off. Her initial wariness of our movements gave way to indifference – when I walked past with a watering can or deadheaded nearby daffodils, she carried on preening, plucking breast down or tucking her head under her wing. She tired as the days lengthened. Her back rose and fell with breaths as she dozed, one eye open, the other closed in unihemispheric sleep; half her brain slept while the other half stayed alert to predators. Once a stoat ran through the garden and I worried for her. Hatching seemed near when she increased in restlessness, constantly turning eggs to the heat of her brood patch, its skin naked of feathers. Then, at 1pm, I saw the first duckling, all mottled soft feathers and miniature beak. The eggs, though laid over several days, hatched within 20 hours, the mound of her back looking ever more plump as her wings sheltered a growing number of silent ducklings. I knew that the passage to the river might be difficult and had a bucket ready. She led her bustling brood to the garden wall, drawn by the sound of water. As she scrabbled on the coping stones – looking very thin – the ducklings couldn't follow. I scooped them into the bucket, and passed it over the wall to my husband who released them. We watched as 10 ducklings swam after their mother down the sunlit River Allen. Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024 is published by Guardian Faber; order at and get a 15% discount
