August08

Sunday, 3rd Elizabeth's birthday

It happened today, the two groups have joined! It's taken just over 2 weeks after Fanny's injury, leaving the top gate open and leaving it to the seven to make up their minds on their own whether they wanted to make their way to the big pond or not.

I was just finishing Sunday dinner when I saw them trooping down, couldn't believe my eyes, and half an hour later they were still down there. Apart from hearing a little argy bargy once or twice it seemed to be going well, so off I went with the camera. THAT disturbed them, of course, as they're still not quite sure if they should be there - the 5 residents certainly don't think they should!

I'm very glad I left them to make up their own minds and didn't shunt them down to the duck pond, it's good to have them together again. Last year it was the middle of September before they joined up once more. It will be interesting to see if the 7 are keen to repeat the performance tomorrow!

Remember Pinky sitting on top of the keeled-over reed container last month? Well, after a couple of days I thought I'd try and right it again or the reeds wouldn't have a chance to grow. So, armed with the extendable lopper once more I went to the back of the pond - the only place from which I could reach - and yanked, and pulled, and yanked .................. and the thing gave way all of a sudden and I toppled backwards across the E-fence and head first and helpless down the steep slope, on top of the brick ends and concrete and brambles and NETTLES! I couldn't get up for ages as there was nothing to pull myself up by. I was scratched and bruised but otherwise fine - but those nettles made me tingle for 2 days!

I don't know if it was all that kerfuffle, but the waterhen family seem to have moved their headquarters along the ditch a bit. I still see them scurrying away from the ducks' food trough but never in the reed container.

Trying to think what other news there was. Saw a female mallard one evening and again the next morning, but not since. No sign of all those drakes that used to pester. And one morning I saw a heron standing at the edge of the duck pond; it took off very gracefully, although we do see it circling above quite regularly. We hear the buzzards crying high up in the sky, and I think we have a nest of young ones in one of the ashes along the ditch.

A surprising sight a couple of days ago was a partridge going up and down the drive, just like last year, and only that one day. Was it the same one? Can't tell - although it did look a bit smaller than the one last year.

Thursday, 7th August 2008

Well, yes, the 7 did go down every day since Sunday, but came back to their normal hunting grounds after some time. Today was the first day they stopped down there all day. We took their food and extra buckets of water down before we left for the Tearfund Lunch at John's Chapel.

In the afternoon we spent hours in the garden and during our tea break we had excellent views of all the ducks. There was no more scrapping as there had been in the morning [when I even saw Fanny chasing Anabelle away - the cheek of it, guest chasing a resident!]. After a siesta - still in their own groups -

they had a good swim together, all, that is, except Primmie who seemed to be guarding an/her egg:

This was the whole scene:

It does make life a lot easier having the two groups together during the day, also with regard to "intruders". I had a scare this morning, before letting the ducks out. Caught sight of something light brown WITHIN the duck enclosure. As it was running this way and that I could see it was a dog, not a fox, and it was wearing a collar with ID tag.

Of course I chased down there and growled at it trying to scare it back to where it had come into the fence. But it growled back at me and made as if to attack me - so I just followed where it went, opened the gate into the field and it went out that way. It looked like an alsatian cross, and it certainly didn't know where it was, running all around the field and eventually disappearing into the field next door at the top end. John thought he heard someone whistling for itl

I think what must have happened was that the dog was taken for an early walk, got up one of the rabbits in the ditch which then slipped through one of the big holes in the E-fence and the dog followed - I presume. As the rabbits usually do it must have slipped away again at the ditch side of the fence where the dog couldn't follow, and it then tried to find its way out until I opened the gate.

There's always something happening, isn't there. Those wild rabbits get right up my nose - the damage they've done and are still doing. Saw this morning that my precious little medlar, which a friend had sent me from Germany and John planted with chicken wire around it, had had 8 inches chewed off it which had protruded above the wire.

Thursday, 14th August 2008

My re-joined dozen have been continuing their togetherness at the duck pond every day and all day long - that is until late afternoon when they all come up to root in the vegetable beds and then make the split.

Before I went down with the duck food this morning I heard the waterhen calling the chicks, urgently. I took a look, and although I couldn't see anything untoward behind the pond 3 of the later brood chicks suddenly dived into the pond - must have been a cat stalking or something. What pleased me was that there were still 5 of these youngsters, which means that our "rescued" chick has survived.

I now see 1 or 2 of the earlier brood near the house sometimes:

While doing some shrub trimming a bit later I noticed the ducks having a little siesta and watching the waterhens swimming in their pond ...... until big Hedda couldn't stand it any longer and chased them off:

It didn't take long, though, before they were all back again!

Tuesday, 26th August 2008 Eileen Gillespie's birthday, Happy Birthday, Eileen!

I do apologize for the delay in writing, I've had lovely visitors! Annie and the girls went back yesterday, and I miss them - especially my little duck-keeping helper Eleanor.

You would have had a laugh yesterday, Eleanor. Look at this:

Why do you think they're scared to go into the pond? It's because of this:

Can't you see what's different? Here it is a bit bigger:

Yes, it's the blue "monster" on the left, the blue tub that used to contain the second batch of reeds and which toppled over after the rescue of the little waterhen. The last few days it had been floating near the other one, with just a little bit of blue showing. In the hope of rescuing the reeds and maybe even my bull rushes I managed to drag the tub to the bog garden end of the pond, but because of its weight couldn't hoik it out. After I took these two pictures I tried to drag it out once more, but it slipped back into the middle of the pond again.

The ducks still wouldn't go into the water, but the waterhens couldn't care less. Here is one [behind Primmie] sitting on the submerged tub,


and another [with arrow pointing in case it's hard to see] just going off.

With John's help we got the tub out of the water, emptied the gunge into the bog garden and left it upside down to drain behind the duck hut. Managed to salvage the pot with the reeds, but the bull rushes have sunk to the bottom. I'll have to go into the pond again!