We have a wonderful problem! A wild duck who visits very regularly with her partner has produced nine beautiful ducklings who are now three days old. The garden is completely enclosed so they are safe, are in and out of the pond, zooming round the garden and obviously having a fab time, as are we just watching them. They are so entertaining. We are keeping our dog away who really does not approve of these interlopers but we are concerned about magpies who are nesting close by and are a handsome menace who would love to get hold of the babies. The male duck was at our feeder on the morning they hatched but has not been near since.

The conundrum is how long do we let them stay, how do we catch them, and take them to what we believe to be their proper home, a nice big pond, which is about 100yds to the rear of our property accessed through a small housing estate.

What a lovely sight, as you say it is a wonderful problem to have. Firstly I wouldn’t be concerned that the male has left as this is normal behaviour, the male only stays around in case a second clutch of eggs is required if the first are unsuccessful so it is normal for him to leave as soon as the eggs have hatched.

In terms of moving them the best advice would be that now that they have hatched it would be best not to. In some cases where it is necessary to move a mother and chicks this is best done on the first day they hatch before they leave the nest. Now they have left the nest it is unlikely that you will be able to easily catch all the ducklings plus the mother and you risk scaring the mother away at which point she might abandon the chicks.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/how-you-can-help-birds/where-do-ducks-nest/mallard-ducklings/

The ducklings will fledge after 50 to 60 days at which point they should leave the garden, until then if you are able to it would be best to leave them be. As you note the magpies could be a risk to the ducklings but hopefully the mother duck is aware of the risk and will be able to protect her young.