November07

Sunday, 4th

I'll start the new month with a photo I took through the kitchen window early this morning:

Very atmospheric, don't you think? I had just wanted to show how many waterhens have been hanging around the house lately, and there were many more than the 2 you can see in this shot along with the pheasants and mole hills. There had been more wildlife than that, actually. The crows and magpies had taken off, there were more pheasants but strangely, no rabbits to be seen!

The same view from an upstairs window still shows 3 waterhens and 1 crow on the tree - or was it a jackdaw?

My theory is that the first brood of waterhens have been kicked out by the parents to make their own way in life and are trying to find new homes. One seems to have taken up residence around the small appletree pond behind the garage, we've seen it a lot in the old chicken run. When I went to clean the duck hut there last Friday it ran away to hide behind the apple tree:

It peered round something like this and as I kept coming up to the hut it took off and flew all the way into a tree by the ditch.

But during the course of this morning I could see 4 of the little blighters as well as pidgeons, collar doves and little birds making free with the ducks' food, water, pond and other facilities. One or other of the ducks would make a half-hearted attempt of pecking them off, but that was nothing like the chases they gave each other.

So there are at least 4 of them around this pond, but I can also see great chases and water splashings going on at the big duck pond, and when I go down there waterhens are running and taking off in all directions. Poor ducks, having their days plagued by a multitude of scroungers!

There were fun and games between about 6 of them around the frog pond as well, which is closed to the ducks at present. I've seen one in particular on the steps and all around at the back for several days. I think it was the one sitting on the "barrier" in this picture that chased 3 others into the orchard:

Enough of waterhens, entertaining as they might be. Something I forgot to mention - while I was watching the moorhens near the frog pond early on Friday morning I suddenly saw a movement not 40 metres away on the other side of the stile: YES, a fox, going in the direction of our neighbour Peter with the chickens. I'm sure it must have been disappointed because Peter now keeps his chickens locked up permanently because he lost so many to the foxes, such a shame. I had almost forgotten about foxes; this shows we can never relax.

I experienced a "first" yesterday in going to the British Waterfowl Association's Show near Solihull, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. So many beautiful birds under one roof, and the NOISE!! The great geese were making their share, but the noisiest of all were the dinky little call ducks; I could hardly believe the racket that was coming from those little bodies - are yours that noisy, Caroline?

Most of all, of course, I was smitten with the runners, such beauties, and standing up so straight, absolutely gorgeous. They made my few runners look VERY poor. If John were keener I could just get into breeding runner ducks, but even so it was informative and educational to see the standards in the various colours. It's always good to see "in the flesh", so to speak, what a first class bird of a particular colour should look like - not so easily done from a photograph. I was also pleased to see that the lion's share of the prizes went to members of our Indian Runner Duck Association! If there are any runner duck keepers out there who happen to be reading this I would certainly recommend they join - I've had great benefits and learned a lot since I did, and for a very small annual subscription. www.runnerduck.net if you're interested!

Thursday, 15th November 2007

It was a gloves-on job this morning, two pairs of gloves, actually, thin and woolly inside and waterproof out. We had the 'best' frost so far - I took a picture at 7 am (which was 8 am in old money if you're old fashioned like me!). Even with a brightness setting of 120 and contrast at 50 you can only just see the features in this photo:

I also took one of the same view almost 4 hours later:

It's a bit hard to spot in the picture on the right, but the arrow points to just one duck on the pond.

Some of the frost is still there, and you can see where I've walked: deep prints on the right lugging heavy buckets of water and lighter ones coming back - also a few leading to the birch to top up bird food. If you're thinking I should have filled the buckets last night because frost was forecast, no, that wouldn't have worked. John very kindly filled all the buckets one night when we had the same forecast, and the next morning all of them had a thick layer of ice on them which almost gave me frost bite breaking it open - hence the double gloves this morning!

I've not had all that much to write about during the past week or so, ducks and drakes still spending all their days together on the duck pond. And we still have trouble getting the 5 in. I like it when all 14 are on the water at bedtime because they get off all together. Then the 9 start off homewards, but usually Candida and especially Anabelle go off with them. Last night Anabelle went all the way to the top with the others and I waited ages - not daring to let the remaining 4 back on the water to be pelted off with crab apples - before she came running back, and even then she wasn't keen to go in. Captain absolutely refuses to go into the hut until Anabelle comes.

I find it quite touching to see how they stick together, and they certainly have their hands [hands?] full fighting off the marauding waterhens/pheasants/jackdaws/magpies/little birds. And I had to smile yesterday morning when Anabelle went all by herself to the top to fetch her mates down to the duck pond. I keep thinking it: we really ought to put both huts together into the enclosure. Can't do it yet, though, because one of John's birthday presents to me was hiring a pump for the day to empty the duck pond and clean it out before re-stocking with rushes and re-filling it. We're just waiting for the right moment. While that goes on they'll have to be all together at the little apple tree pond. That was thinly frozen over this morning, by the way.

Thankfully the big pond wasn't, and you can see in these two photos that the cold didn't bother the ducks.

The vegetation has had it, though.

Was dismayed to hear about yet another outbreak of H5N1 in yet another factory farm - you would have thought they'd learned something from the Bernard Matthews case [which is still not properly cleared up]. Let's all exercise consumer power and refuse to buy factory farmed meat!

Tuesday, 20th November 2007

There was a marked improvement at bedtime last night with the 5 separating quite easily and not trying too hard to escape going into their hut. Let's hope they continue like this for our duck sitter when we're off on our little trip to Germany on Saturday!

Anabelle was so sweet this morning; she was standing quacking inside the E-fence gate like a welcoming committee when the 9 came running and flying - yes! - through the orchard.

It was a different story yesterday morning. For some reason Sweetie was the only one to come out of the gate opposite the house, and when nobody followed her she tried like mad to get back to the others through the - still closed - greenhouse gate. I frightened her to death when I came to open it for her.

It's been a dull, dreary, dismal day today. Not that the ducks mind; they've been busy non-stop repelling [or trying to] waterhens and pheasants. The four moorhens that hang around near the house all the time now really made me laugh when 3 of them were on top of the bird bath near the garage and the fourth trying to get on as well. No, I'm sorry, I didn't bother with a photograph - much too dark today!

Tuesday, 27th November 2007

I'm so glad we went to Germany for my sister-in-law's "big" birthday. It was worth all the travelling and delays just to see her happy face!

I wasn't sure how our duck sitter Elizabeth had got on, but I got a few surprises yesterday morning. Couldn't find the water buckets for a start, the electric fence had been put on in an unusual way, and only 4 ducks came out of the bottom hut - where was Anabelle? I soon found out: she came out with the top nine. Well, that was a surprise as she'd always absolutely refused to go into that hut for me. She made number 10 there last night and tonight as well - I wonder if she'll continue.

I've been thinking about the pairing-up ducks and drakes seem to be doing in autumn in readiness for the mating season early in the year, and some time ago I was quite disgusted to see my favourite duck Primmie hanging around with Blob all the time. Like an overprotective mum I was thinking - quite unreasonably - that she could have done better in her choice. "Could have done better??" She only had Blob or Donald to choose from for goodness sake!

And the day before we went to Germany I saw that Anabelle was reluctant to leave DONALD, not one of the girl friends in that group like I'd thought. Oh well, as long as they're all happy. But it does seem strange having just the 3 white ducks resident at the duck pond with Captain, even though everybody mixes during the days.

Wednesday, 28th November 2007

............................ as you were ........... Anabelle changed her mind and didn't even try to go up with the 9 tonight. Maybe she found the other hut too crowded the last 3 nights? I asked her if she'd fallen out with Donald but she didn't say.

On the not-so-pleasant-front this morning I went to investigate a racket the 14 were making shortly after they'd got together on the duck pond. I thought it was all those pheasants bothering them, and yes, about 5 of them flew up when I came, and then I saw the 2 foxes just the other side of the ditch next door. We closed the electric fence when we went out!