duck-life

They are almost full-grown ducks now. Well, they are that size, but I think that is mainly because of all the bread they eat. Even we have taken to doing it, not because they need feeding, or because we are really in the habit of duck-feeding that very much, but because it is a way of interacting with them, seeing them up close, watching them grow. A new brood of teeny ducklings has hatched on the lake, on the dark waters overhung with trees in a different part of the park, less accessible than the pond which is right beside the canal-path. There are ten of them and it is always so incredible just how fast they can go – along the surface of the water – chasing insects (which is how they feed themselves right from when they are born.) I guess we will watch these ten (or some of them anyway) growing to fledglings as we have with the five on the pond, but I don't think I will get quite as attached to these new ones. That place in my heart has been filled - I know it is rather silly. In spite of their slightly bullying habits I still feel somehow that they belong to me. Sentimental I guess, they just look so cute. Another fledgling has joined their band. At first it is impossible to tell which one the outsider is – they spend most of their time sleeping in the sun, floating among the lilly pads, fairly well camouflaged. It is when we are feeding them that the difference becomes woefully apparent because our fledglings bully the other one and try to prevent it eating any of the bread. How could they be so mean!! We always manage to feed it anyway by distracting them. It is just an animal instinct, like the way the coot attacks any bird that comes within ten yards of its nest (except the geese of course!). The poor moorhens really get the worst of it, being the smallest. I love the way they chug along like little boats! They get chased by coots and by ducks pretty much wherever they go. They are all secretly nesting somewhere, I know – the moorhens I mean – I even saw one of them trying to climb a tree, how very odd. The very little fish like eating bread too and swarm around the floating bits taking very tiny little nibbles of it. They seem to have produced even tinier little fish, I saw them today – this really confuses me because I thought they may have been the babies of slightly less tiny fish. I'm not quite sure if they are minnows or sticklebacks either so will have more investigating online to do. I think that is enough for now, but there really is so much to see – iridescent brand new dragonflies hovering over the water and the sleuthful, solitary, midnight-black crow who washes his beak at the edge of the pond.

They are almost full-grown ducks now. Well, they are that size, but I think that is mainly because of all the bread they eat. Even we have taken to doing it, not because they need feeding, or because we are really in the habit of duck-feeding that very much, but because it is a way of interacting with them, seeing them up close, watching them grow. A new brood of teeny ducklings has hatched on the lake, on the dark waters overhung with trees in a different part of the park, less accessible than the pond which is right beside the canal-path. There are ten of them and it is always so incredible just how fast they can go – along the surface of the water – chasing insects (which is how they feed themselves right from when they are born.) I guess we will watch these ten (or some of them anyway) growing to fledglings as we have with the five on the pond, but I don't think I will get quite as attached to these new ones. That place in my heart has been filled - I know it is rather silly. In spite of their slightly bullying habits I still feel somehow that they belong to me. Sentimental I guess, they just look so cute. Another fledgling has joined their band. At first it is impossible to tell which one the outsider is – they spend most of their time sleeping in the sun, floating among the lilly pads, fairly well camouflaged. It is when we are feeding them that the difference becomes woefully apparent because our fledglings bully the other one and try to prevent it eating any of the bread. How could they be so mean!! We always manage to feed it anyway by distracting them. It is just an animal instinct, like the way the coot attacks any bird that comes within ten yards of its nest (except the geese of course!). The poor moorhens really get the worst of it, being the smallest. I love the way they chug along like little boats! They get chased by coots and by ducks pretty much wherever they go. They are all secretly nesting somewhere, I know – the moorhens I mean – I even saw one of them trying to climb a tree, how very odd. The very little fish like eating bread too and swarm around the floating bits taking very tiny little nibbles of it. They seem to have produced even tinier little fish, I saw them today – this really confuses me because I thought they may have been the babies of slightly less tiny fish. I'm not quite sure if they are minnows or sticklebacks either so will have more investigating online to do. I think that is enough for now, but there really is so much to see – iridescent brand new dragonflies hovering over the water and the sleuthful, solitary, midnight-black crow who washes his beak at the edge of the pond.