By late March or early April, the first of the Mallards are back on the prairies. At this time, lakes and ponds are usually frozen, and only meltwater fills the hollows of pasture lands and fields. The early arrivals are usually mated pairs. 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.