July06

Sunday, 2nd

The "junior" ducks have made great progress; they're happy to gobble up blackfly-infested (it's the hot weather!) chard and other leaves and lettuce and don't go and hide any more when they see us appear. The "ginger" one of the trio had learned how to shin up the steep ramp to the chicken coop the day after we got our last 5 ducks, as we saw her when Mel collected her khaki Campbell she called "Beer". Well, since then the white one has learned that trick, and last night even Sweetie went up the ramp. The little Trout almost made it but fell off. There's hope for tonight! This morning, though, was the first time all 4 came out of the coop and down the ramp without my having to knock on the coop door from inside the garage to urge them out. A few more days and I think I shall remove the separating chicken wire between these 4 and the 6 around the apple tree pond. I see them communicating a lot.

Talking of the apple-tree-6, poor old Blob is getting a taste of his own medicine being chased a lot by Donald - who is so intense in his pursuit and shouting reactions I'm thinking of re-naming him Leyton after Hewitt! Noticed Blob has been limping for the last 3 days; must have hurt himself in his efforts to get away, but he is getting better.

I spent a lot of time yesterday adjusting the electric fencing and mowing the grass very short under its path, so was able to observe the duck-pond-8 at close range. I was very happy to see that they are all getting along very well, no sign of any upset or injury. It's a happy time at the moment!

Tuesday, 4th July 2006

We got around to cleaning out the apple tree pond today. It wasn't as thick and gloopy at the bottom as last time, so the job was done quicker than expected and we started re-filling the pond just before mid-day. Much to the delight of the ducks who couldn't wait to get in before it was even half full.

Because Sweetie had spent a lot of time recently looking through the separating mesh and making a noise I thought now was the time to remove the mesh as the pond was filling. Sweetie wasted no time at all and went straight in and joined the others. By the time I'd fetched the camera she was out and preening herself, in this photo in the middle distance:

Here, below, she is with Blob who is still limping a bit but seems to have made a truce with Donald/Leyton.

The youngsters didn't dare follow her for quite a few hours. I saw them looking through and the "ginger" one nattering to the other two as if to say "shall we go in then?"


And for a moment it looked as if they were going to ........................................ but then, no!


I still saw them in their tumble-down greenhouse fast asleep late in the afternoon. But then I went raspberry picking in the cool of the evening, and guess what? They were swimming and splashing happily in the pond! Of course they shot out as soon as I approached with the camera, but you can see them below with Sweetie and her 2 white mates from Julie and Molly's.

I can just hear Mel saying "My, haven't they grown!" Yes, indeed they have, Mel, but what about your little goslings - to judge from your photos they've grown twice as fast!
................................................

Donald did do some chasing, but I watched and they always got away and settled peacefully with the others in between chases. It was getting a bit dark by the time I took this photo, but all 10 are on it:

We wondered what would happen at bed time. Would the teenagers and Sweetie go back up the ramp to the coop
(yes, they did last night, all 4 of them!) or would they go in with the others? ...................................................
.........................................
They all went in together as good as gold, all 10 of them!

[Can you see the cherries on the low hanging branches top left of the picture? They are my favourites being large yellow ones with red cheeks. I'll have to get the ladders out to get a few before the birds finish this tree off as well. They've stripped the first of our 3 big cherry trees well before they were fully ripe, and they're now very active in this one and the one near the "horse" fence - the areas underneath are covered with dropped half-eaten cherries.]

Thursday, 6th July 2006

I've been keeping a close eye on our two families of ducks, especially on the 3 young ones, and I'm delighted to be able to say that they look a very happy bunch in both places. I'd just love to see all 18 running around the garden foraging and nattering away - but not just yet. All the new ones will have to get used to their new home properly first.

Been doing a lot of thinking on the male><female thing in the duck world, and here are my thoughts - for what they're worth - based on my observations:

Everything is well in the ducky world as long as there are several ducks to a drake, at least 3, better 5 or 6 I now think.

A duck without a drake to look to for protection is a miserable thing. Fanny hated being on her own, even though she'd nearly been killed by the 4 drakes. And the 4 Campbells led a pretty dull existence after I removed the 3 drakes, who had injured them, from their company, and one of them even tried to take on the male role (we noticed the same thing happening when we had the 12 hens).

Immediately after the drakes came back into the ducks' lives they cheered up, spruced themselves up in their respective ponds, and started laying.

It was a similar tale with Sweetie. She'd been mauled somewhat before she came here, which is why I kept her separately with the youngsters. She spent days looking longingly at the adjoining pond and quacked a lot at the ducks and drakes "next door". As soon as the barrier was removed she was in there and mixed with the others.

So, to sum up, all goes well in the ducky world as long as the male/female balance is right. Yippee for now!

Friday, 7th July 2006 The anniversary of the dreadful bombings in London

There was an almighty fight down on the duck pond this morning. The noise went on for ages, so I went to have a look. It was one of the Campbells and the white with the dark beak going at it pecking each other's chests and locking beaks. I saw Clarence break up their fight several times, pecking each of them, but they wouldn't leave off. I'm sure it went on for 20 minutes or so. I have no idea what it was about, it's a mystery. But they must have sorted it as there has been no recurrence.

Saturday, 8th July 2006

The crowd near our house had their first outing today.

I knew I was going to be gardening at the front of the house all day, so I left the gate to their enclosure open this morning. There's hardly anything left for them to peck at in there (apart from the Hosta!), and they do need their greens. But they didn't venture out until quite late in the afternoon, hence the dull light in the photos.

I first saw them in the frog pond:

Can you see Sweetie peering over the step, bottom left of this picture?

They all shot out when I came with the camera. On this preening photo I've put an arrow to show that the little trout, who was definitely challenged in the wing department, is finally growing the characteristic dark wing feathers:


They had such a good time in the frog pond that I thought I might have to drive them out at bedtime, but they went by themselves about 8.15. It was so nice to see them out and about, shame it can't be all 18. But the 8 by the duck pond have access to plenty of greenery all the time.

Thought I'd give you a line-up of these 10 - I could do with help with the naming!

Started a 7-day course of half yearly worming for all the ducks this morning. Tonight, when we went to shut them in, it was the first time that all the food was gone - normally there are just a handful of grains left. They must like the taste of the Flubenvet!

Tuesday, 11th July 2006

The 10 have been out all day today, out to the frog pond, in to their home ground to top up with food and out again. In the early evening they got a bit more adventurous and started foraging at the back of the pond and into the orchard. Then the boys suddenly picked up speed having remembered the way they used to go to the duck pond, and went ................... right up to the electric fencing. Well, the noise from both sides! None of them touched the fence, but they must have realized it was no go - so the 10 came back again. If there was no danger from foxes I would let them join up.

Wednesday, 12th July 2006

I still didn't get any pictures of the 10 saying hello to the 8, but they've been visiting again. I took several pictures while we were having a cup of tea in the orchard, and a couple turned out very nice:



This one I didn't get right - it was such a great line-up of them coming down the slope.



And I haven't forgotten the eight by the duck pond - here they are looking very peaceful:

By the way, those chestnut tree leaves you can see on the right are part of a tree we planted as a sprouting conker we found in John mother's garden 6 or 7 years ago, and I'm very proud it's grown into a handsome tree!

Tuesday, 18th July 2006

Following on from my mention of cherries on 4th July, we were very lucky this year. John got a small amount off the first tree near the house before it was stripped, I picked a bucketful off the second and nearly as much off the third tree near the fence. I froze a lot, made pies, and of course we ate them fresh off the trees and in fruit salads. Either there was a bigger, better crop this year or we just got our timing right for picking - two days later there was nothing left.

I have another success story regarding cherries. My favourite jam is made from Morello cherries, and we do have such a tree in our orchard (one with a long history of being moved from one pot to another and from one garden to another, but it's thriving) which is loaded at the moment. Two Mondays ago I made something like a huge tent out of fleece and netting and put it over the tree securing the netting all around on the ground (the blackbirds tend to go under!), successfully so far!:


Another thing I'm "chuffed" about in the garden is that the cutting John took of Tony's bottle brush 2 or 3 years ago is flowering, wow!

But back to the ducks. Well, I'm happy to say that everything is going well. Both groups are out and about all day (the duck pond one still within the electrified fence in case of foxes) and they're easy to get in at night as long as John stands one side of the huts to stop them from running around it. All are eating well, enjoying their respective ponds, and the only shrieking protests I hear - rarely now - are those from a duck trying to avoid the attentions of a drake. Although several are moulting we are still getting 5 - 6 eggs a day (most we had on one day so far was 9!).

The pretty fawn runner duck from Julie and Molly's makes me laugh every morning and night. She is always the first into the food bucket while the others fly straight into the pond, and at night she's on the edge of the duck pond making an agitated racket, even going into the hut and then coming out again as if to tell the others that it's bedtime!

She's not laid the last 4 days - her eggs are that pale greeny/blue. We know this because we watched her one morning frantically searching for a good spot to lay, in the high grasses at the back of the hut, in the bog garden, all around and in the hut, for a good half hour. In the end we found she'd laid in the hut.

A couple of the white ducks from Julie and Molly's have taken to investigate the high bank adjoining the frog pond for laying, especially the one with the mottled beak was making a right racket about it the other day. She hollowed out a nice spot in the middle of the high grasses and phlomis, and we did find her egg there later.

Must have another look later as the one with the fawn colour around her eyes was busying herself there this morning.

Another visitor to the garden delighted me last Saturday: a green woodpecker. The noise it was making alerted me as I was getting ready to go to Leah's party. Then I saw it at the foot of the twin-trunked birch near the garage:

It spent ages looking up at the birch and pecking the bottom of the trunk, then it worked it's way towards the concrete slabs in front of the garage:
I'm sorry I couldn't do a better close-up, but I daren't disturb it. We've heard it a lot recently, particularly in the area of the hedge near the duck pond, but this was the first time I'd seen it. In previous years we were able to watch
greater spotted woodpeckers feeding among the spent flower stalks of the kniphofia, but I never saw a green one before.

Friday, 21st July 2006

Took a nice photo early yesterday evening of seven of them returning to the frog pond from a feed in their home ground, and 5 of them are putting their best foot forward, very cute.

Sweetie, 4th from the back, is hardly ever last in the line in spite of her comparative slowness and very pronounced waddle; she keeps up well!

Donald (third in line here) has established himself firmly as "top dog" or "alpha male" in this crowd. They all dance to his tune.
I'm pleased to note that the mating urge appears to have abated quite a lot now - I have seen both Donald and Blob standing on top of one of the ducks (and almost bending her in half in the process) just looking around everywhere admiring the scenery, as if thinking "now what was I doing up here?" When I spot this I chase them off, much to the relief of the poor duck underneath. But Donald still seems to think it a point of honour to have "had" ALL the ducks, which I presume is why he spends much time pursuing the 3 youngsters, who run very fast protesting loudly or hide. The one who protests very much the loudest is the young white, behind Sweetie in the picture, and that's helped me with naming her: Decibels!

The one I called ginger, here in the picture striding out behind the Trout at the back, Carl said wasn't ginger at all but cinnamon in colour. So I'm thinking of calling her Cinnamon (or Zimt in German). That's as far as I got with the naming, alas.

The moult is progressing apace, we have abundant feathers in both locations, look at all that white lying around:

Even the 3 teenagers are in their youth moult - 'Cinnamon' and 'Decibels' in this photo:

Saturday, 22nd July 2006 Sheila Smith's birthday

RAIN AT LAST!!!!!!!!!!!!! Was delighted to see stair rods coming down before I got out of bed - it only lasted less than 5 minutes, though.

But this afternoon we had a belting thunderstorm, the rain must have come for nearly 2 hours. Both groups of ducks were out and about in field and orchard finding loads to eat, and discovering - re-discovering in 3 cases - the delights of the big puddle in front the garage:

The sun came out again late in the afternoon and managed to get just one snap of the two groups either side of the electric fence in the field:

As soon as they saw me the lot in front hotfooted it back to the frog pond, obviously thinking they were doing something wrong. I am wondering whether to take down some of the electric fence on the garden side on Monday, and see if the 2 groups will mingle.

Tuesday, 25th July 2006

Yes, I did take one section of the fence down first thing in the morning, but none of them ventured out until early evening when the others had gone into the field, and then only 3 of them: Captain, the fawn and 1 Campbell, the biggest. There were some shenanigans, but nothing serious. All had their heads down finding lots of food:

In fact they went so far into the field that I thought I might lose them and chased them back:

The 3 "escapees" from the duck pond went back into their enclosure and the other 10 back behind the garage. I shut both lots' enclosures as I didn't want them going into the field again unescorted. I had to watch Coro!!

But today was the big day, the getting together en masse. No, it wasn't peaceful at all, you could say it was pandemonium most of the time, fighting - even the girls - attempted rape and all. I took lots of pictures and am putting in several.

I opened a section of about 10 metres at the bottom of the formal garden where I was cutting back the laurel hedge, and after about half hour the 8 made their first excursion into the garden:

Frances has been giving me some help with the naming. She liked Arabella. I did too, but changed it a bit into Anabelle. The 'belle' part is self-explanatory, and Ana is almost anas = duck! So this is now the name for the pretty fawn runner, standing here right in front. On her right is the biggest Campbell, an absolute whopper, so I've named her Hedda Hopper. The white runner with the dark beak I've called Candida (= white). She's on the very left of this photo.

Right, so after this first excursion they went back to their pond. During the heat of the day nothing much happens anyway; they all stay near shade and water.

But early evening, between half past 6 and 7, the 10 were on their way to the field and met up with the duckpond 8. I heard the commotion and went out with the camera:


They all went down the slope and I saw Donald and Blob trying to chase the 8 back to the duckpond, picture below:


It didn't work. Soon all were on the way to the frog pond - and went in:

Oh, the noise! The fights! On this photo below left Blob and Donald together are trying to murder Clarence. You can maybe just see their heads between Candida (facing) in the middle and Anabelle with her back to us. The Campbell second from left has a more pinky than yellow beak, so I've named her Pinky. I suppose that means one of the two remaining unnamed Campbells will have to be Perky - but which one?


I've included the photo above right as Donald is doing such a lovely job unfolding his wings after getting out of the water.

Well, everybody went into the field for a while - no big fighting really, just a peck and a chase now and again, and then the 8 returned home, I put the fence up again, the 10 went home and I closed their gate so as to have peace and went and sat down to write this.

Just a little postscript on the names. I think I've mentioned before that I was thinking of calling the Trout "Forelle" - German for trout. A bit of a mouthful which I may shorten to 'Florrie'. The little Trout, 'Forellchen' in German, I thought of shortening to 'Rellchen'. That, however, might be difficult for English tongues (it is for John's!), so I may have to think again. She tends to stand in rather a broad manner, look at those "child bearing" hips!:

"Cinnamon", however, always stands very prim and proper, often with one foot on top of the other - I may have to re-name her "Primmie"!


The 2 white/bit of fawn/Campbell mix near the house John and I discussed this morning over coffee. The one with fawn circles around the eyes I thought 'Circlet', but John thought 'Circle' easier. The second one has a mottled or chequered beak, so she's 'Chequers'. So, apart from 2 Campbells they all now have names I can refer to in these diaries.

Wednesday, 26th July 2006

John was in a meeting last night, and when he hadn't returned by 10 past 9 I thought I'd do what he suggested: replace him standing on one side of a hut with my tailor's dummy. I put a jacket on it and a hat and placed it the side of the hut at the duck pond where the 8 normally try and get back into the field. It worked! Just 1 Campbell escaped to the other side but soon came and joined the others. One down, one to go.

The apple tree 10 did one half circuit of their hut. Then I moved the dummy closer to the ramp and that did it. The dummy done good! "Man muss sich nur zu helfen wissen" (you need to be resourceful) Helmut would have said.

This morning I opened up 2 sections of the electric fence, and it didn't take long before I could tell from the noise that the 10 in the frog pond had got some visitors. I had some breakfast outside and watched them; lots of chases, lots of fights, and tons of noise in between peaceful spells of splashing and diving and nibbling around the edges:

I was getting a bit worried about all that quacking and shrieking disturbing the neighbours, so I started to chase all 18 towards the duck pond:

Once there I put the fence back up, provided 2 lots of food and water buckets,


and left them to get on with it. The noise soon stopped and all was peaceful: