A female duck just made her nest in my front yard a few days ago and I'm concerned for her and her eggs' safety. There's this bush at the corner of our driveway and sidewalk with stone around it, it's very exposed and her nest is inside that stone ring. I'm concerned with the neighborhood kids and other dangerous wildlife invading her nest. I thought about putting a high fence around it with a small opening for her but I'm not sure if that's sufficient. I'm just worried about her and I want her and her young to survive. There's also a pond about 5 minutes walking distance from my house, but I'm afraid to move the nest. What should I do? Thanks.

Good morning, Congrats on having a duck nest in your yard! My suggestion is to just leave the nest alone. The duck has picked a spot that she's comfortable with and putting up a fence will just draw attention to the nest. And it won't keep wildlife out. If a raccoon finds the nest and wants the eggs, a fence is unlikely to deter it for long. She and the eggs just have to take their chances. That's the way of the wild. If the neighborhood kids show interest in the nest it would be a great opportunity to teach them about wildlife. Given the unusual spot she picked for her nest site, I would guess that you have a mallard nest. They lay 8 to 12 eggs. The hen will incubate the eggs for 23 to 29 days. Once all the eggs hatch the ducklings will be ready to go. It's likely that she'll take them to the pond you mentioned. The duck (and her nest and eggs) are protected by federal and state laws. So disturbing them is illegal. If you have more questions please feel free to e-mail me. Good luck ducks!