June09

Thursday, 18th Happy Birthday to Alan Hitchcock!

I finally got around to putting 'a little something' into the duck diaries and realized with horror that I haven't been in here since 24th May ................. many apologies to anyone who worried in case some disaster had befallen the ducks!

No, everything is alright with them, no sickness, no injuries. I noticed that the boys have started their summer moult:

And remember our frog-eating Primmie [hiding at the back, left, of this photo]? Well, after several weeks when we thought she had lost interest we heard some really loud squealing near the frog pond, and when I looked, Primmie had quite a large frog dangling from her beak which was screaming its head off. John happened to be coming up from the greenhouses and managed to make her drop the frog. He went to get a little trowel to pick it up and move it to safety, but when he turned round again the frog had gone - must have been well enough to jump. Poor little thing, I'm glad it was saved. But the noise it made ............. I wouldn't have thought it possible.

Sunday, 21st June 2009 Happy Birthday, Carl!

Took the camera down to the duck pond in the hope of getting glimpses of the new waterhen babies we saw recently, but all I could see were two grown-ups who immediately went and hid at the back of the pond. I'm now very worried in case they've been killed again.

I was so thrilled when, more than a week ago, I saw waterhen activity again among the reeds in that little "island" on the duck pond. The grasses and flags had grown quite a bit and now provided cover. The waterhens had made a nest again in the middle, but there were no eggs. Then, one evening as I was putting the 4 to bed I could hear a "plop" at the island and there was a little black fluff ball hiding in the reeds. On two more mornings and evenings I caught sight of one or two babies swimming off and hiding among the nasturtiums. So the parents must have hatched the eggs somewhere else again in the hedge and brought their babies to our pond. If only they'd stopped on the island instead of swimming off at our approach - it's a lot safer there than in or along the ditch. As I said, we've had no sightings of the babie the last couple of days, just the adults. What a shame they didn't nest on the pond this year.

I took a few photos of both groups, though, to make up for not writing for so long. The arrow points to where the new eggless-nest has been made:

And so as not to neglect the group of 7 here are three photos of them:

Monday, 22nd June 2009

I'm happy to write a quick addendum to yesterday's tale about the waterhens, I saw two babies this morning! I also spent considerable time lurking behind bushes in the hope of catching the waterhens' plus babies' return, but no such luck - I bet they had look-outs posted in the trees and saw me!

Something that SHOULD be worrying me, and I'm shutting my mind to it at the moment, is that the seven have taken to big excursions into the field. I hope I've not been lulled into a false sense of security by the fact that we lost no ducks to the foxes last year and have only had sightings of them at night - oh no, sorry, John saw one at the back of the duck pond the day I was at Pearl's, so we can't really relax.

................................................................................................I LOVE this shot of the rabbit belting by behind the fence!

Thursday, 25th June 2009

Funny I should have mentioned foxes last time I wrote; I had a frightening experience Tuesday evening.

I had been picking loads of flowers - the garden is overflowing with them at present - for the tables at the Luncheon Club yesterday. It was about 10 past 8, just before duckie bed time, as I was going down to the style to pick some of the Deutzia there, and HEARD before I saw a dog fox turning around and thumping away at speed. I must have frightened it as much as it scared me, it was no more than three metres away on the other side of the style. If I hadn't turned up just then the fox would have come up the footpath and into the garden.

It just illustrates that the fox danger is ever present. But I still don't want to lock our ducks up permanently. After all we didn't keep our children in the house permanently because there was danger on the roads. ........................... Must spend more time in the garden and be vigilant!