Mallards are one of the first ducks to arrive back on the breeding grounds in spring. They are adaptable and may nest near a lake, pond, river, or even woodland pool. Their preferred habitats, however, are the natural grasslands that surround little reed-ringed sloughs and potholes on the prairies. The female, accompanied by the male, now searches for a territory. Most often, she will choose a territory close to where she was born.
Some females return year after year to the same site.
The female chooses the nesting site. It may be close by a pond, but is frequently at some distance and may be far from water. Normally on the ground, the nest is little more than a depression lined with bits of rushes, grass, weeds, or other material close at hand. It is usually in good cover such as thick grass, or under a buckbrush, brier rose, or other prairie shrub. The eggs, which with different birds may vary in colour from dull green to almost white, are laid daily.