Throwback, er, Monday

 

Pond update.  Still frozen.  Still no ducks.

It's all a bit strange, leaving the house without being accosted by a small, shouty bird.   I believe it's going to get warmer here this week so our friends might just put in an appearance.

In order to satisfy duck lovers here is a photo of our first clutch.  These appeared on the first weekend of lockdown last year and frankly kept me going through it.  This was our first foray into duck Grand parenting and a welcome sight.  


The summer of 2019 Egwina had busied herself nesting in the duck house and began what we came to learn, was a nesting pattern where she would come out twice a day, head to the door for food and then have a good old wing stretch.  A good wash would follow and then she would return to the nest.  She did this daily, you could almost set a watch by her.  But then a month passed and there was no sign of any ducklings.  Slowly, one by one she turfed eggs out of the house and into the pond.  Eventually after about 7 weeks she reappeared.  The clutch had failed.

We don't really know why none of the eggs hatched.  She was quite a young duck that year so maybe unready for the challenge.  We were a bit sad for her but hoped 2020 would be more productive.  Little did we expect not one, but two clutches of ducklings...


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