Meet Shirley Rose with her ten ducklings, who jumped down to the pond on June 3:
The “fam” resting in a clump on the grass. Doesn’t Shirley Rose look proud? She’s been a great mother, defending her brood against all comers and rounding up any straggler ducklings who get lost and peep piteously for mom.
Why did the duckings cross the road? Who knows? Note the duckling stopping to drink from a mud puddle.
And the gang foraging in the grass at 13 days old. Their peeping is endearing.
Misty (named after the ballerina Misty Copeland because of the hen’s graceful neck and demeanor) hung around the pond all spring, and we didn’t really want another duck breeding there, so we never fed her. Nevertheless, she persisted, eking out stray duck pellets and nesting somewhere we don’t know. She appeared at the pond with five gorgeous ducklings on May 28, two days before Shirley’s brood appeared. Fortunately, the two groups managed to keep themselves sorted out, and there was no rancor (or ducknapping) between the broods. Both Misty and Shirley Rose are terrific moms.
Meet Misty & Co.: The very first few minutes in the water after their big morning leap:
Mom anxiously overlooking her brood:
Resting under the apple tree with Mom just two days ago, when it was hot. It’s easy to miss them as they’re cryptically colored, and the yellow and brown pattern makes the ducklings look like sun-dappled forest floor:
An afternoon nap:
Misty giving her babies diving lessons on June 4, when they were just a week old:
One day later, the brood practices more dives. A big ol’ turtle nearby doesn’t care. Video by Jean Greenberg.
The two broods near each other on June 2. Misty’s are five days old, Shirley’s only three. Video by Jean Greenberg:
Adorable. Always enjoy the videos. Hope everything remains calm.
Beautiful. Little ducks are just the cutest. So do Shirley and Misty and their families get fed by you? Or do they fall afoul of your duck austerity program?
Only families (moms, their broods, and the mom’s protective drake mate) get fed. Itinerant undocumented ducks do not get food.
Hah! Undocumented ducks. “Show me your papers please.” No wonder you have all these broods to feed now. They’ve figured it out. Make babies and get fed for free!
Lovely creatures, all of them. Makes you think of Satchmo’s great song, ‘What a Wonderful World’, eh?
Another prolific year for the ducks at Botany Pond! Congratulations to Jerry and his crew!
Congratulations Jerry and the the rest of the duck crew. It is lovely to see the ducks are thriving. Keep up the good work!
Hmmm. I dunno, professor: they’re cute when they’re little but come their teenage years….. you’ve got T.R.O.U.B.L.E~!
That’s how I think about children and why I’m not in the “human reproductive business”. And… to quote Steven Pinker: “if my genes don’t like it they can jump in the lake.”
I’ve got a dog though and he’s a VERY good boy. See for yourself: https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2020/06/10/photos-of-readers-93/
🙂
D.A.
NYC
The video of Shirley Rose and her ducklings crossing the path shows a dozen itinerant duckumented peeps. Did 2 get lost or had to go to rehab?
I think those may be the peeps of some of Misty’s brood temporarily separated from their mom.
Ah! Thanks! Shirley Rose and Misty have earned a spot in the feed line next Spring, I hope.
Thanks for the update! Busy busy in the duck world of Botany Pond.
Mazel tov!