Reader’s wildlife photos, PCC(E) duck edition

Whether you like it or not, you’re going to look at photos of my ducks today: Esther and Mordecai. (This is the equivalent of a proud parent showing off pictures of their kid.)  They have now been here well over a week, and have settled in nicely, having learned to navigate most of the pond (except for the parts blocked by netting.)  They have also mated at least once, though mallards mate several to many times before the female finally nests.

Esther hasn’t yet started building a nest. Once she does—and I hope it’s on a windowsill instead of the ground—she will lay all her eggs, one per day, and then, when they’re all laid, she will sit tight on them, brooding them for just about 28 days, when they will all hatch within one day. And then. . . ducklings on the pond!

Although mallards are ground-nesters, somehow the Botany Pond ducks have learned to nest on the windowsills of the adjacent buildings, which affords them protection from both predators and the elements. But Esther seems to be a young and rather wild duck, and I hope she doesn’t put her nest on the ground, where predators and errant humans could disturb it.

The good news is that both ducks have learned to come to my whistle for a nosh, and when I make my characteristic call, they both come swimming towards me. This is something that’s happened only in the last two days. Ducks learn fast!  Here are some photos, all taken yesterday.

BREAKING NEWS: When I went to see the pair this morning, I couldn’t find Esther, though Mordecai was on the east side of the pond. I had a feeling, and so I looked up. Sure enough, there was Esther sitting on a ledge in a window of the second floor of Erman, the building next to the pond. She is clearly scoping out nesting spots (“nest shopping”, we call it), and so the next step in the breeding process has occurred. She will pick out a good ledge (that’s a nice one, above soft ground), build a nest, and then lay eggs. I’m glad she knows enough to nest on a ledge and not on the ground. These ducks are not dumb!  To see two films of Honey and her ducks jumping off the ledge, be sure to go here and watch the movies

Below: the pair swimming together. They are NEVER far apart, and if they get separated by too great a distance, Esther will quack loudly at Mordecai and he will come swimming to her. (He’s a good husband.)  Remember, only female mallards can make the characteristic quack that we associate with mallards.

After her swim, Esther dried off on the warm cement facing the sun:

As I’ve said, hens are particularly cute when they tilt their heads, which, given the placement of their eyes, they have to do to see above them. They often do this when a hawk or other possible predator flies overhead:

Swimming. If you haven’t seen our mallards before, the blue stripe on the wings is called the speculum, and we don’t really know why it’s there.

Mordecai swimming. His neck is stretched out because he hears something. Note his curly tail feathers:

Mordecai swimming, neck in normal position. I like the psychedelic patterns in the water:

Esther chilling (or rather, warming) on the cement edge, eastern part of pond:

Mordecai standing just a few feet away from her. He doesn’t want to neglect his reproductive investment! Note that both ducks are in good condition, healthy and plump:

As Esther jumps up onto the edge from the water, she uses her wings to assist, and you can clearly see her speculum. Each blue feather (these are called “secondary” feathers, with the “primaries” being the main flight feathers) has a white stripe on it. I still have several speculum feathers from Honey, as mallards molt and regrow all their feathers after they have babies. During this period of a few weeks, they’re unable to fly.