A Ducklings Tale

Talking of spring over the last few posts and hoping that it will arrive here shortly, leaving those cold reminders of winter along way behind, I was recently reminded that spring was coming if only by small steps at a time, while staring out of the window at work the other day. At that moment from out of the sun’s glare there appeared, the my first sighting of a group of ducklings for this year. In fact there were nine active balls of fluff that called themselves ducklings, accompanied by an ever watchful and proud mother.

Mother and Clan – 10 May 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

At this stage the ducklings were still just small balls of fluff, less than a handful worth of duckling each, but so full of life and energy. They were still of a size that wandering too far from the bank meant that the current caught them in a second and had them off downstream before you could blink. They then had a stiff battle to swim back upstream against the current to return to the family fold, which usually involved them keeping close to the bank and out of the main current as much as possible.

Ducklings are no different to any other youngster, where the world is a wonderful place full of new sights and sounds to be explored and at such a young age they seem oblivious to the dangers of the world at large. This lack of instinct for danger was illustrated so well, while I was observing out of the window, when the ducklings soon became the focus of interest for a passing Crow. The Crow had landed close by on the bank and took a serious interest in the group of curious ducklings, watching closely their mad frantic movements with growing hungry intentions for having a duckling or two as a mid-morning snack. Mother ever alert, especially to the curiosity of the Crow and its intentions, herded her clan in tight against the bank and out of easy grab reach. Here she kept them safe for as long as the Crow was present, not letting them wander away from her protective eye. Soon the though Crow realised that an easy snack of duckling was not going to be forthcoming and went off to hunt a mid-morning snack elsewhere.

 

Always on Watch! – 10 May 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

Strange Mallard Visitor

As is a common morning activity when I’m in the house, I sit drinking tea and watching the passing antics of the birds at the bird table. As usual there were half dozen or so House Sparrows buzzing about, one moment buzzing off and the next moment flooding back with a mass of chirps. At this time of year, when the hedge next to the bird table still only has a light covering of leaves, coating the tips of the branches, the Sparrows that dive into the hedge do not disappear from sight and you can see them hustling for priority in the hedge, until the bravest feels that its safe to dive for the bird feeder again, rapidly followed by the rest. Today, a single male Sparrow, looking exceptionally fine in bright, clean plumage and fluffed up to make himself look twice his original size, made for a perch at the end of the hedge to sing his little heart out. Accompanying the House Sparrows were a couple cheeky Blue Tits that are easily hassled off the feeder when the Sparrows come back to feed and a every so often there would also appear a male Chaffinch, also in clean prime colours. Then under the feeders scurrying amongst the pots that litter the ground is a Dunnock picking up the bits and pieces of nut thrown out by the main feeders.

 While I was watching the normal everyday activity of the House Sparrows and their companions, I looked across to the gate, where there suddenly appeared a Mallard. He squeezed under the struts, wandered up the garden path and stood in front of the door surveying the scene for a few minutes, before heading back to the gate and out of the garden. Now that’s not a scene that has been seen before in our garden, as it doesn’t have a pond and the nearest pond is probably a quarter of a mile away. Later I saw him hanging round the car park and realised that he had in fact been seduced by a couple of white Farm Ducks that had made a break for freedom.

 

Escaping Mallard Visitor – 07 April 2012 (Copyright – Ross Lockley 2012)