Well, we have another brood of four ducklings in Botany Pond, and this time I’m hopeful they’ll grow up and fledge. Yes, it’s a late brood, but in two months they’ll be ready to fly, and the weather is good in mid-September.
The story: four days ago an undergraduate alerted me to the presence of a nesting hen up against the student union building next to my own building. The hen had cleverly positioned her nest in a cranny in the building where it couldn’t be seen. A few shots.
I’ve circled the nest; you can see how hidden and inconspicuous it is. She must have been there for nearly month, unnoticed by anyone, when I came upon her, for her eggs hatched about a day after this and the incubation period is 28-29 days.
Here she is sitting on her eggs. It looks like a big pile o’ eggs, but in reality there were only five. It had been hot, and I hadn’t seen her in the pond, so not only was I unaware of her presence, but she must have gone without food or water in the blistering heat. I put a dish of cool water near her, and she didn’t seem very skittish.
She is a lovely hen; there’s something appealing about her face. As I’ve run out of duck names, I call her ‘Miss Duck”. She may be identical to Margot, as I haven’t yet checked bill photos, but I think she’s new. Also, unlike most hens, she nested on the ground rather than on a windowsill (wild mallards are ground-nesters).
Yesterday (Sunday), I looked at the pondcam and saw a blob at the south end of Botany Pond, apparently followed by several smaller blobs. I went downstairs, and, sure enough, there was a duck with four ducklings. I went immediately to the nearby nest to see if there were any orphans hanging about, but no: there were broken eggshells and one unhatched eggs, which I kept warm for a day and a half though it didn’t hatch. This was Miss Duck in the pond, and she had laid five eggs.
The nest after hatching:
The one egg I saved, which was apparently infertile (I didn’t open it). It’s really light green, the normal color of mallard eggs, but the light in the lab makes it look pale orange.
And now the happy family. The babies are adorable, and Miss Duck is much tamer than the others we’ve had. The splash of water is made by a fish, which somewhat startled Miss Duck.
I don’t know how she got to the pond; when I looked yesterday, it was about 6 a.m. Since the ducklings could not climb the stairs up through the breezeway, they must have been led around Erman, the building perpendicular to the one above, and then north again through the fence to the water. Miss Duck is smart.
Four is a small brood but she may be a young hen. Here are the babies, who, if they live, I’ll name after World Cup players. Aren’t they adorable? I think this is one of the best duckling photos I’ve ever taken:
More ducklings:
Since the dreaded Aggressive Drakes are gone, I have great hopes for this brood. The only problem is the algae: I don’t want the ducklings entangled in it and am asking Facilities to somehow remove surface algae without disturbing the ducklings.
They started eating yesterday. Miss Duck had Big Duck pellets, while the babies nibbled at Little Duck Pellets and crushed mealworms. This morning they were all still there, and were in the channel, where I fed them. Miss Duck has an endearing habit of quacking quietly when I greet her before feeding, and she’s learning my whistle.
Here they are yesterday on the rocks, sunning, drying off, and sometimes lying under mom’s belly:
I don’t think I could take another lost brood, so please cross your fingers that these little ones will grow up and fledge, and will not encounter ensnaring algae.
I have named the ducklings though I can’t distinguish them. With Matthew’s help, and because the ducklings hatched during the semifinals, I will name them
Messi (the GOAT),
Rodri (best player),
Kylian (golden boot), and
Erling (Norwegian star)
What a delightful way to start a Monday. Keeping my fingers crossed for Miss Ducks little family. With you and your helpers I know they are in good hands.
Very glad to see this post, and the pics are great!
Good idea to name the ducklings after football players.
But all the names are for males…. no females?
Is sexing a simple thing to do when the creatures are this young? Can you tell without having to handle the creatures? If female, we could name them after Ballon d’Or winners: Aitana, Alexia, Megan, Ada,…
Or we could give two feminine names and two masculine, of course 🙂
Blobs! Good luck to them all!
Yay!!
Anathea = duck goddess.
I tried looking this up. AI says this:
There is no widely recognized goddess named “Anathea.” You are likely thinking of a blend between different ancient deities: Anat (the Canaanite warrior/love goddess) and Antheia (the Greek goddess of flowers and swamps), or Athena, who is known for her iconic bird companion, the owl.If you specifically meant a duck goddess, there are a few interesting figures in mythology associated with them:Sequana (Celtic): A Gallo-Roman goddess of healing and the River Seine, famously depicted steering a boat shaped like a giant duck.Nganu Leima (Meitei): The mistress and summoner of all ducks and waterfowl in Manipuri mythology.Inanna (Mesopotamian): The Mistress of Animals who was historically associated with ducks and other aquatic birds.Could you clarify where you heard the name “Anathea”? If you provide a bit more context about what the goddess was doing or her culture of origin, I can help you find the exact deity you are looking for.
Miss Duck is indeed pretty, and I’m very happy for you.
Fingers crossed. A reminder to readers that we have chances to watch Jerry and the rest of team duck do care and feeding live on the Botany Pond Duck Cam at url
Thanks. Feeding time is aabout 1:30 pm today (they’ve already been fed twice).
Good news of the day — what beautiful little blobs!
The algae situation is looking a whole lot better on pondcam today than it did last week — somebody must be doing something about it. If I lived 200 miles closer I’d certainly volunteer to help!
Yes, they cleaned some of it out Thursday, as they do every second Thursday. I’ve asked them if they could be sure to keep the algal scum off the surface.
What a handsome group of ducklings you have! The ducklings’ fluff in the first photo gives them the impression of being surrounded by a halo (not in the religious sense!). It’s adorable.
As for algae, when I looked at the pond cam this morning, there seemed to be much less algae than there was the last time I looked. Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part.
Also, it’s interesting that Miss Duck has habituated to you so easily. Perhaps she was one of an earlier brood that hatched in Botany Pond and remembers you from then.
Anyway, since everyone else is crossing their fingers, I’m knocking on wood instead, for an extra measure of good luck. That’s what my mother always did to keep her kids safe, and we all survived!
I absolutely love your favorite duckling photo – the color and design really help those cute little balls of fluff stand out. And I’m crossing fingers and toes for the duck family. Not that I’m superstitious or anything.
Yes, fingers crossed! Love the great news and the wonderful photos-
Great to have a duck family again!
Lovely photos. The past few days have been a real rollercoaster of duckling news. Fingers firmly crossed for a happy outcome this time around.
Beautiful!
Beautiful pictures and story!
How wonderful! The ducklings are so sweet and mom is beautiful, looks like a very good mom. Like Brooke, I wonder whether mom might have fledged from one of the last broods before the pond was shut down. Also, since she found such a secretive place to nest, on the ground, unlike the other ducks who have nested there (at least since I’ve been following them).
All fingers crossed…
Truly wonderful news! May they all live well and prosper.
No Lamine? 🙂
Congrats Professor Duck Whisperer, four new grandchildren. I’ll think of their mom as Princess Grace. A beauty who has returned new life to the pond and its guardians. A twofer this Summer Monday. Life is good.
Heartwarming. Makes my day.
Wonderful news!
Just saw a parent with four kids watching Miss Duck with her four ducklings. Everyone seemed happy.
I happy for you. Best of luck keeping them intact.
It was good to hear this news. Congratulations. I hope this brood can thrive and mature at Botany Pond. 🦆🦆
I know virtually nothing about life sciences, but under the rubric of “if you see something, say something” regarding human flight safety: i am aware of green growth called duck weed which is different from algae but looks much the same. Duck weed is a nutritious food as I have watched adult ducks in our local lake plow through it like ice breakers leaving clear water in their path and devour it. I know that whatever this is, it was lethal to the ducklings and their survival comes first, but just want to make sure that we are not removing all of a natural nutrient for them. Of course I may be totally wrong…just raising an issue and trusting subject matter experts to make decisions.