August07

Thursday, 2nd

Something happened at the duck pond last night just before duck-shutting-up-time. I had heard noises - fox?, bird? - coming from that direction and had a look around, but couldn't see anything alarming. Yet when I went to shut them in a most unusual sight greeted me: all 6 were standing INSIDE the hut looking at me and making no attempt to come out again.

Now, that had NEVER happened before. I mean, they go in easy down there, but they always need prompting with outstretched arms. And if something frightens them their instinct is to go on the pond and stay there. That's why I think something happened ON the pond, and looking at the basket with the eggs it did look as if it had been spread apart and disturbed, and I'm sure I could only see 2 eggs. None of the waterhens had been seen scurrying over the branches, either, as I approached.

So I'm worried now in case there had been a raid by magpies or other big birds.

Sunday, 5th August 2007

I saw 2 parents and 2 youngsters when I went to let the ducks out Friday morning, so at least 4 of them are still there. But I'm sure there had been a raid on the waterhen's nest the night before as I could only see 2 eggs where there had been five.

The next morning there were 3 again, and every time I've looked since there were 3 eggs visible. Now the nest has been detected by predators I suppose it's subject to frequent attacks. The waterhens, including their "teenagers", have been defending nest and territory as I've seen them pursuing magpies into the field on several occasions. I took a couple of photos at 'ducky bed time' last night:

That's 3 eggs for sure, there, isn't it?

By the way, the other two baskets
don't look at all healthy:

The one with the 2 long sticks in contained the one and only bullrush I bought [for £10!!] from the aquatics place - doesn't look like it's recovering
at the moment.

Yesterday morning there had been just 2 Campbell eggs in the duck hut, so I suspected that one or two of the ducks must have been laying elsewhere within the enclosure. So, after I had shut them in last night I took a good look around underneath trees and bushes where I'd found eggs before, and I got a surprise:

They were under a conifer in the heatherbed I had been pruning into shape recently, this one:

Can you see the 5 eggs in the middle?

Now, there certainly hadn't been any eggs when I was pruning there, and the watertest also proved they were fresh.

I felt rather mean taking the eggs away, but from previous experiences I know that eggs left out overnight don't stay undetected for long.

I suspect Anabelle has given us this haul, or Candida, or both of them, as they are the only two at the duck pond that lay eggs with a pale blue tinge - and I hadn't had any of those in the duck hut for some days. I must go and see if I can find bluish eggs today somewhere, as there were just 3 white Campbell eggs this morning.

Sunday, 12th August 2007

Talking about eggs in my last entry has reminded me: I haven't totted up the eggs for June and July. Of course, the production has been going down a bit what with moulting etc, but there were still 262 in June and 226 in July - even after Chissit's death on the 11th. I thank the girls every morning for being such lovely layers!

I've had some more lovely visitors until yesterday. Richard came for 3 days - and immediately got stuck in sorting my Navbar out [you may have noticed], adding loads more programmes to my computer and setting up Pearl's birthday computer ready for her to use - followed by Gerd and Maria, and they all went home together last night. It was SOOOO good to see you three again, thank you again for undertaking that long journey.

I still keep a close eye on "our" waterhens. Took a couple of shots from inside the duck hut late this afternoon.

The youngsters are about as big as the grown-ups - can you see them in the insert here on the left and just underneath? They just look a little paler and don't have the red beak. Strange when you consider they had that as babies. We only ever see 2 of them now. Whether the other 3 sought their fortune elsewhere or fell victim to some predator we don't know.

What we do know, though, is that the waterhen family consider the duck pond as their own, and both John and I have seen them having a go at the ducks. John saw one confronting big Hedda and chasing her away, and I saw the 2 grown-ups "herding" all 6 ducky residents off the pond two mornings ago!

I thought that was a bit rich, so this morning I left the gate to this area open for the top 9 to go in and re-inforce the troops down here if they wanted - so far they've kept to their separate areas.

Monday, 13th August 2007

There was no invasion yesterday, none of the ducks went through the open gate either way. With the resumption of rain furious cleaning sessions seemed to occupy everyone:

But I'm writing again this morning because I had a great surprise last night when checking on the waterhens' eggs. There were BABIES in the basket!!!

Of course, I had to try and get some photos this morning. Last night I thought I had seen just two, but in the first close-up I was pleased to see three:

I was thrilled to pieces that the second hatch had been successful, these waterhens really are excellent parents.

I didn't want to disturb them too much, so put the camera down and saw to the ducks, eggs and waterbuckets. It tickled me to see one of the babies peeping out fairly low down in the basket and watching me.

On leaving the duck pond area to let out the top lot I turned to take a couple more shots, as I could hear the mother hen make those little calling noises and 2 of the babies followed her to the logs, 1 stopped in the basket. The 2 teenagers were hanging around, too.

And now, looking at the photos on screen, I think we may well have FIVE babies again, what do you think?

That's 2 little red beaks mum is talking to at the foot of the logs, but there's another baby on the bottom log just to the left of this writing, isn't there? I hadn't seen that before.
And I'd be very surprised if those were not two little balls of fluff in the basket at the very bottom left of this picture. Wowee!

Tuesday, 14th August 2007

Yes, there are five, I saw them this morning. So, at the time I saw just three eggs the other two must have been further down in the nest.

When I got close to let the ducks out I saw mum calling the little ones, and 4 diddy waterhens followed her to and through the logs at the back. And then, just as I opened the duck hut door, a fifth was paddling like fury to the pond edge and, with a very big effort, scrambled up the black liner and beyond where parent and one teenager were waiting.

They really are the dinkiest little things. I feel so priviledged to be able to observe them at close quarters - fairly close, anyway!

Friday, 17th August 2007 - the day after Pearl's birthday, Happy Birthday again, Pearl!

We had a nice, sunshiny start this morning, so I took the camera with me down to the duck pond. After some time which I spent weeding the dahlia bed - under cover of the laurel hedge - the whole waterhen family came out, teenagers and babies and all. But the camera wouldn't work!

Having changed the batteries I went down again, and yes, they were all still there including a teenager on the top right of this photo, just seen across John's cabbages and flowers and a butterfly!

The little ones were popping in and out from between the logs, and there were times I thought I could see 6, not 5.

There was no hassle with the ducks, everyone was pursuing their own business:

Saturday, 18th August 2007 (thank you, Gerd, you'll know why!)

Friends John and Enid came last night for another German-speaking practice, and when this John helped me put the duck pond 6 to bed I had another surprise: there were more than 6 little waterhen chicks.!

Initially we saw 3 or 4 [not quite sure because of the dusk] scurrying across the water towards the logs, and as we went to have a peek at the nest in the basket 4 more little chicks swam out of it one after the other. Is it possible that there are 7 or 8?

Saturday, 25th August 2007

A whole week later! Very sorry, everybody, no disaster's happened, just a very busy week trying to catch up in the garden in this dry weather, would you believe it.

I've not seen that many little chicks again as I did last Saturday, only ever saw 4 or 5 vanishing behind the logs like billyo. John actually held one in his hand a few days ago! The tiny tykes had got caught in his fenced-off veg patch next to their pond, and he managed to get hold of one and put it back over. They've grown quite a bit - must be 4 inches long now from their initial 3.

Was delighted to have a visit from Pearl and sister Gwen on Thursday [and not one of us managed photos] and from Pat and Graham yesterday. Looking forward to receiving Graham's photos in due course!

To finish for today here is one of John yesterday doing the kind of job the ducks are really interested in:

Friday, 31st August 2007

Last chance to write in August!

I know I mentioned on 12th August that I was leaving the gate of the E-fence open during the day to let the groups mingle again. And then I found out about the second hatch of baby waterhens and thought I'd better leave it shut to give them a chance to grow without being harried by Donald or Blob.

Well, I've since seen the little ones grow fast and running as far as the water meadows next door - still only ever 4 or 5 of them - and started leaving the gate open once more. More than a week passed and neither group entered the other's area. Then, Tuesday evening, I got a surprise. Having just shut in 9 for the last hour before bedtime I was surprised to see some ducks in the veg patch. I counted what was in front of me and yes, there were 9 I'd shut in - so it was the duck pond 6 that had come out! Whether they'd been out before I don't know, but that was the first time I'd seen it. You can probably see by the light in this picture that it was quite late,
and so I drove them back to home ground.

The next day, though, they were out a lot. Not mingling exactly, but there were no fights, either. I did however see the 9 rushing uphill from the gate at one time and Anabelle standing just inside it with a satisfied attitude that said "well, that's seen them off!". It looked as if she'd seen them off single-handedly ......... or should I say 'single-wingedly'?

Yesterday we had a visitor to the garden we hadn't seen before, and the ducks were very suspicious of this unfamiliar bird:

This partridge hung around all afternoon and evening, it seemed quite tame. Peck, peck, pecking among the stones in front of the garage, all around the house, down by the fish pond, up to the greenhouses and back again. None of the ducks dared have a go at it like they do at pidgeons.

All 15 ducks/drakes were all over the place, too, yesterday. Here are the Campbells going up the drive,

and then everybody spent some time on the front lawn,
still keeping largely to their separate groups:

Then they all came trooping back

and Rellchen, having had a quick snack from the food box, hurried warily past the partridge
to catch up with the others.

After that everyone went or waddled off to the field where John was mowing:

We didn't see the partridge when we went to shut the ducks in for the night - maybe it was lonely and had just come for the company?

There was another surprising willingness of the duck pond 6 to go into their hut for the night. They were already all standing by the door when I got to the E-fence gate, and went in at once just waiting for me to shut the door. Then I heard a great clattering of wings in the trees above - something bigger than pidgeons. Maybe the heron I'd seen sitting up there earlier had come back and frightened them.