Mallards and my clueless bird dog

[The hen is incubating a clutch of ten eggs under the fallen pine.

Her head is right under the branch.]

The mallards have split from the flock on De Sabla Reservoir to nest along the flumes.

We encounter two nesting pairs every day when Fred gets his "walkie" along the flume trail.

The ducks were skittish when they were looking for nest sites, and always flushed at our approach.

The commotion usually flustered Fred. 

But I have to credit him for giving chase the one time he seemed to actually see them.

[She covers them with leaves and down when she leaves the nest.]

Now they are setting on eggs, and lie low. 

So we just walk on by. 

I see one hen on the water every day now, and Fred doesn't even notice.

So, what I want to know is this: if it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, and smells like a duck, why is my half-breed Labrador so clueless about ducks?