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      My neighbor, Duane,  was surprised a few days ago to find a couple of mallards in his yard. They were in the small back yard as well as the open front yard. We live in an urban area which has some urban parkland, but we are almost one km away from a creek and natural area.

      It is becoming more common to find wildlife in urban areas. These areas provide suitable habitat for some species but I must admit that for ducks it's a bit out of the range. We have a fairly good population of jackrabbits as there's suitable food and cover. We have deer that wonder through on a regular basis. Coyotes and foxes are probably more common than we think as they prowl around at night. I have had moose in my yard several times. Dogs these days are very closely controlled so they do not chase deer. And of course birds do fairly well in the numerous trees planted in yards and along streets and in closes.

       Now for several years I have seen mallards near Duane's house. They have certainly been in his neighbor's yards and out in the close. Last year the mallards were in the close for such a long time that I suspicioned that they were nesting. I searched but did not find a nest. So this year Duane will have to watch his yard and let us know if he has any ducklings. I think that as time goes by we will see more wildlife inhabiting our neighborhoods.