These lovers come from different sides of the quacks.
An off-Broadway version of “West Side Story” has been playing out in Central Park this spring, as a male wood duck has found love with a female mallard — marking an unusual pairing of waterfowl from different species that has been wowing city birdwatchers for months.
The hot new it-couple has been seen paddling happily throughout the lakes, reservoirs and ponds since they first got together back in January in a relationship that is rarely seen in the wild, according to birding experts.
A male Wood duck is spotted earlier this month with his new female Mallard in Central Park, and the two are reportedly finding love. David Barrett of Manhattan Bird Alert“It’s unusual for a wood duck male to want to court a mallard female,” David Barrett of the Manhattan Bird Alert X account, who has been watching the wood duck for years, explained to The Post.
Apparently, the debonair, green-headed wood duck just has a certain type, as watchers said this is the third different mallard he has chosen to court over the past few years.
“In the duck world, it’s the male who does the courting, it does the choosing. So this wood duck — he’s making the unusual choice every year to want to be with a mallard female. It’s quite unusual.”
He sticks with them through the tail end of the winter and through the spoils of spring and summer until the cold weather begins nipping again in the fall.
That’s typical in the duck world, he emphasized — the fowl mate for a season, not for life.
The canoodling canards began their love story in January, when they were spotted cozying up with one another on an ice shelf at the Park’s reservoir.
The love birds were first spotted canoodling on an ice shelf in January. David Barrett of Manhattan Bird AlertThey’ve been inseparable since — and he’s as willing to fight for his woman as Tony is for Maria in the famous musical.
“The male wood duck aggressively protects his female mallard. He will not let other ducks, particularly mallards, near his female. When that happens, he chases them away. He swims right at them, pushes them away. He’s quite clear about that, has been all along — a protected duck,” Barrett said.
“It’s almost hilarious how aggressive he is about doing what he does. Because sometimes the duck is just wandering the area looking for food and not out to steal his mate, but he won’t even let that happen.”
Whether this wood duck has ever created hybrid ducklings with any of his mallard mates is unknown.
In 2023, the love birds were spotted with one small duckling that ignited rumors they had done the impossible, but the baby vanished within just a few weeks, leading to speculation it had been snatched up by Central Park’s many snapping turtles.
Ducks are also known to imprint on ducklings of another species — so it may have been possible that the duckling in question was adopted by the interspecies pair.
It is within the realm of possibility, however, that this year’s romantic pairing could produce a baby when breeding season hits Central Park in July.
The male wood duck has had other mallard girlfriends in the past like in this image from 2022. David Barrett of Manhattan Bird Alert“There have even been documented cases of male wood ducks living with pairs of mallards, sometimes forming small, mixed-species family units—a remarkable example of nature’s complexity and adaptability,” Sarah Aucoin, the Chief of Education and Wildlife for the city Parks Department, said in a statement.
“While interspecific mating poses some conservation challenges, especially if it threatens the purity of vulnerable native species, it also highlights the dynamic and ever-evolving relationships among wildlife. These interactions offer researchers valuable insight into behavior, adaptation, and the richness of biodiversity.”
One thing that’s for sure is how fiercely in love the pair is, even if their romance has an expiration date.
The wood duck is spotted again with his old female mallard girlfriend. David Barrett of Manhattan Bird Alert“They’re close to each other all the time. They stay together. They swim together throughout the day. He keeps all the ducks away from her. They seem happy doing it. They still seem to be delighted with each other’s company,” said Barrett.
“And the male continues to do things that are typical for a courting male to do: making vocalizations while swimming, raising his feathers, raising his head, putting his head back a little bit, looking at big and overwhelming as possible, looking as best he can to try to continue winning the affection of his mate.”
Those looking to catch a glimpse of the couple have the best chances by visiting the reservoir’s east side near East 91st Street.
