Growing up in New Hampshire, we had a decently sized pond at the side of our house. I would spend hours out there as a kid, hunting for frogs, dragonflies and all sorts of water beetles. There was not a single year that I can remember that we did not have a pair of mallards visit our pond. And there were a few years that they brought ducklings too!

In my experience, mallards are the most common ducks in my area. Common to the extent that I am almost never surprised when I do see a pair. They play well with other bird species and I often see them in the company of Canadian geese, wood ducks or with a great blue heron nearby.