Sources:

• Ducks Unlimited – Waterfowl Energy Demandsducks.orgducks.org and Fat Is Fitducks.orgducks.org (insights on fat reserves, migration costs, and refueling rates)
  

• Ducks Unlimited – Tracking the Mallard Migrationducks.org (telemetry data on migration distances and strategies)
  

• Outdoor Life – Mallard Clocked at 103 MPHoutdoorlife.comoutdoorlife.com (extreme example of migration speed with tailwind; typical migration altitude)
  

• Ducks Unlimited – The Incubation Periodducks.orgducks.org (female incubation behavior and reliance on stored reserves)
  

• Mossy Oak GameKeepers – Wintering Mallards: Habitat Insightsmossyoakgamekeeper.commossyoakgamekeeper.com (winter diet shifts, importance of protein and sheltered wetlands for pair bonding)
  

• North Dakota Game & Fish – Habitat Needs of Mallardsgf.nd.govgf.nd.gov (mallard diet and breeding behavior in Prairie Pothole Region)
  

• Ducks Unlimited – Amazing Waterfowl Factsducks.orgducks.org (typical migration altitudes; importance of early-hatched ducklings)
  

• McDuie et al. 2019 – Dabbling Duck Flight Speeds (Wildlife Research)publish.csiro.au (modern tracking study showing mallards’ median migratory flight ~82.5 km/h)