I have a large pond, which is currently nearly empty and we have a 5 tonne digger in it trying to sort out a leak/desilt etc. Anyway we have been rescuing the carp as work progresses and moving them into the deepest areas but there was a very small (about 2 inch) carp fry stranded on the silt, sadly out of reach. As I was trying to figure out a way of getting to it along came Mrs Duck with her 4 ducklings, took one look at it, picked it up, washed it off and downed it in one!

I've ever seen a duck eat a fish before, has anyone else witnessed a mallard do this?

In reply to Post #1
not seen that, but I saw a big common eat a 4oz roach that was dead on the surface

In reply to Post #1
I've seen the mallards eating fry/small fish loads of times and I'm not in the slightest bit surprised by what you witnessed.

In reply to Post #1
Never seen a Mallard, swans, seen a few eat dead roach etc.

Game of survival and I guess anything is fair game

A few weeks ago I saw a cygnet eating a dead duck chic

In reply to Post #1
My Dad once brought home two ducks he'd rehomed from a local advert. We had a pond woth a load of goldfish, Crucians and hybrids in it. Within 2 days the ducks had eaten the lot, that's when I realised they ate fish! They totally wiped it out.

When I was a child we had a pond in our garden, proper stream fed inlet, with some ducks my parents had bought, Aylesbury's, Black Indian Runners. My younger brother found a frog in the soft rushes by the pond, so to "save" it, he threw it into the pond, where one of the ducks caught it and ate it.

Every spawning time they would crowd around the overhanging sloe bush and pig out on rudd spawn.

Our cat was also seen to catch rudd that swam next to her in the margins. Great ratter she was, rats, mice and fish.

I've seen a chicken, Chase, catch and eat a mouse. I've seen a Heron eat a huge rat. Not surprised that Ducks eat fish. I've seen a Pike eat a Mallard on the Thames.

In reply to Post #8
I see a pike try to eat a mallard, the pike could not chase fish due to its shape, I later that year caught the fish and on release put a herring next to it and it had it as I released the fish, hungry fish

In reply to Post #8
My dad used to keep chickens, seen them eat mice myself

There's not much herons can't take, watched video on you tube a while ago about Herons, anything they can get in there mouth goes down, various birds, one was a pike the was massive!

In reply to Post #10
I see a cormorant eat a pike

In reply to Post #1
Of course ducks eat fish. Quite normal. Hard to believe people don't know that when they spend so much time by the water

In reply to Post #11
I saw a man eating duck.

With pancakes.

In reply to Post #13
Never seen a duck eat a fish

In reply to Post #13
I've seen a duck eat a pancake

In reply to Post #15
No way, was that before the man had the duck

In reply to Post #16
Yes

In reply to Post #1
I saw a Duck down a Frog once and could not believe my eyes but, it kept it down !

I saw a cormorant flapping about on the surface of the Thames. Initially I thought a pike had it as it kept dipping under. Then saw it had an eel wrapped around its neck like a boa constrictor, the two were going at it for a couple of minutes then all of a sudden the cormorant got the upper hand and the whole 2 foot eel when down the hatch live. Cormorant gagged a few times and that was that, the thing must have been squirming around inside it

In reply to Post #18
One of my koi attempted to eat a frog in her younger days. Unfortunately it was a large frog and she was still a small koi so the frog got stuck with its back legs still protruding out of her mouth. I managed to net her and slowly pulled the long thin severely squeezed frog out. After being extracted it took a huge breath, ( it was in there for quite a while) slowly regained its shape and hopped away apparently none the worse for its experience.

In reply to Post #1
Witnessed my ducks eat mice,frogs etc.
Think it's just a jerk reaction.
Interesting though,cheers