May06

Friday, 5th

It's a great shame that the first entry for this month is a very sad one. No, not the fox this time.

"One of the ducks is in a bad way" said John after letting them out this morning. I checked, it was Olive. She was keeping herself near the garage with what looked like an egg hanging out. We thought she was egg-bound. When I got hold of her I realized though that it was a prolapse, and the only egg we had this morning, covered in blood, had been hers.

We took her to the vet's, and by this time - with her having been so reluctant to be caught - she had made her injury a lot worse and her intestines were hanging out. Unfortunately the vet could do no more for her and she had to be put to sleep.

I had been intending to write up a funny story from a couple of days ago, when we'd watched her hanging back from the troop, squashing herself against the lonicera she had used a few times for laying her eggs, watching until everybody had gone down hill to the duck pond, and then slipping under cover. It's not funny any more.

Sunday, 7th May Molly's birthday, Tony's birthday

I'm beginning to feel a little more positive today after the loss of Olive. Had been ready to give all drakes and ducks away again and to stop having animals altogether. But to have a large garden without seeing the runners in it is not an inviting prospect. I just hope we don't lose any more - I can't take it.

Just took snaps of our 6 having a quick feed and a drink ........................ out of the bowl John is washing his plant pots in,
of course. Hasn't everything come out quickly in the garden since the rain?

I meant to mention before: Clarence, the perpetually pursued, is the first of the boys to have had his curly tail feathers pulled out - noticed it middle of last week. I wonder how long the others' will last?

Monday, 8th May

Had a phone call from Eric yesterday reporting on how the 2 runner boys have been getting on they took home with them on 17th January. Well, they lost one as well (fox, presumably), but the remaining one whom they've named Donald (!) has palled up with a pair of Mallards and is very much at home on stream and ponds and in the garden. We shall have to go and visit!

Late yesterday afternoon, I was just sitting quietly doing a sudoku, the ducks appeared at the back of the house.
They have obviously found out that there are lots of snails to be had in that area (I can confirm this from my weeding sessions), especially on such a wet day. The third photo I took through the kitchen window - can you spot all 6 through the reflection?

I've been encouraged to see today that our remaining 2 ducks appear to be better than Olive at getting out of the way and fending off the boys' attentions;
I even saw them swimming with the drakes in the duck pond for a little while. And later, in front of the garage, I saw Lily climb on top of the plant basket when they got too persistent, and Fanny followed her there when she'd had enough.

Friday, 12th May Sam's birthday

The frog pond near the house must have been punctured some weeks ago, because the level went down drastically shortly after it had been covered with frog spawn. We've no idea how it happened as no one has been near it, but are wondering it it was possible for the very active moles to have damaged it from below.

As we wanted to wait until those thousands of little tadpoles had changed into froglets we postponed emptying the pond and getting a new liner. At the time our ducks had shown no interest in the frog pond, but then, presumably after polishing off all the spawn in their duck pond, they discovered the bounty in this one. I drove them off a few times, but they kept coming back when I wasn't about and I gave up in the end. Lets just hope some little frogs will make it.

Saturday, 13th May

They say the 13th spells bad luck. I'm not superstitious, but It's been a bad day. Lily vanished this morning.

It's now gone 3 in the afternoon and we've not seen her since before 10 when John was planting red cabbages near the duck pond. We have looked all around for her and so have the drakes. At first we thought she was hiding out somewhere in order not to be bothered, but she's never stopped away on her own this long.

Maybe that brief flash of brown I saw near the ditch this morning was not our cat or a rabbit but a fox. Maybe she had tucked herself under the hedge there and she was snatched - we don't know, there's no sign.

I can now see the spectre of last year looming up again, when one duck after the other was taken - whether we were in the garden or not. Once the foxes have found where the table is laid for them they come back time and again. I've fought and lost my campaign to have daytime foxes shot by the Council's Pest Control Officers, and I'm not willing to have my feathered friends shut and fenced in, there's no pleasure in that for them or for us.

So that's it now, I've lost heart for these duck diaries. I shall not want to hatch any more just for them to be picked off again.
I'm saying goodbye, I'm sorry.