Gadwall courtship. Walmsley sanctuary 26.3.22.

 Sometimes the courtship display and free for all in the duck world can be a dramatic affair which does appear to be very unpleasant for the females.

Here 5 drakes vied for the attention of the duck and there was a lot of jostling for position and bullying of the female. I'm sure the avian equivalent of rape is widespread amongst wildfowl.

I once watched over a dozen drake mallard kill the female in a continued onslaught just to mate with her. 

Gadwall have successfully bred at Walmsley sanctuary since 2012 when this was a first breeding record for the County. They've bred every year since.

They are usually very late breeders and don't normally hatch till late June although everything seems early this year so it may be sooner.

The female is the bird with the orange sides to her bill, there is only the one female in these photos and up to 5 drakes.

Here are a few more images of the amorous adventures of Gadwall.