What to do?

What should a person do if they come across a mother mallard duck laying on the shoulder of the road and her seven brand new ducklings cold and confused in the middle of it?

I know I can't raise wild ducks, but I could not just leave the little things there to suffer the same fate as their mother. Who can I contact that will raise them and release them??

Hmm well I think you have to take them home and try to keep them alive if you can. Not sure but I would think if you keep them with intention of releasing them you should be ok.  Coaldale has birds of prey centre bur maybe they would have contacts for you?
I know not supposed to assume wildlife is orphaned just because they are alone but in this case if you found dead mama beside?

If it were me who found them, I'd call the SPCA and/or the local wildlife rehab centre.

Good luck, and thank you for caring enough to stop and take action.

Mama duck as defiantly dead. Poor girl I worry about raising them and releasing them myself. Can they be released when they are full feathered. Can I just put them on my pond then and they will know to fly off with the others when fall comes?

I though of the Birds of Prey Center, but worry that they would become food for their birds of prey   

I have also wondered about calling Fish and Wildlife or Ducks Unlimited?

Wild mallards, and many other species of ducks, will often adopt ducklings. If you go down to a nearby pond and see a mallard hen with ducklings of a similar age just release them and chances are they will join up with the group. I have had to do this a few times in the past and they always joined up with a group. Many times rehab centres will do the same thing, as long as the ducklings are healthy enough to release of course.

Mads

You could try contacting the POPWA. They may be able to point you in the right direction. There are members/breeders that have permits to keep wild waterfowl. Whenever i've had mallards I take them to a fellow in Drayton Valley that has such a permit.
http://www.popwa.ca/contact.html
http://www.popwa.ca/breeder.html

Mads wrote:Wild mallards, and many other species of ducks, will often adopt ducklings. If you go down to a nearby pond and see a mallard hen with ducklings of a similar age just release them and chances are they will join up with the group. I have had to do this a few times in the past and they always joined up with a group. Many times rehab centres will do the same thing, as long as the ducklings are healthy enough to release of course.

Mads

This would work. very common to see ducks going with ducklings of various ages.