Spring migration of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) tracked with wild-trackers in East Asia

Mallard is a dominant waterfowl species wintered in Korea. We researched the mallard spring migration route, stopover sites, and breeding sites. We used cannon nets in Central Korea to catch and attach 10 wild trackers (WT-200). The mallards’ spring departure dates were from the end of March to early April. The spring migration route varied by individual mallards, with most moving through the North Korean east coast. Breeding sites were distributed among the interior of Northeastern China. The average distance to the breeding areas was 1,265 km [standard deviation (SD) = 491 km] and the average days spent from wintering site to breeding site was 25.3 days (SD = 19.2 days). The mallards used several stopover sites when on the spring migration route (average 3.3 ± 2.1, range 2–9). The time spent at the stopover sites was a minimum of 1 day to a maximum of 16 days. Wintering mallards in Korea showed various individual trends regarding spring migration timing, migration route, stopover sites, and usage days.