The duck news is pretty good: Dorothy and her six babies are all in excellent shape, and, after her molt, she and her kids are all about ready to fly. I expect to see some rudimentary flying within ten days or so. Honey comes and goes, visiting the pond for about two days at a […]
Evolutionist John Avise provides his weekly contribution to our knowledge of waterfowl: the Duck o’ The Week. The object is to guess the species of duck from the photos. (All the ducks are found in North America.) Then click below the fold to see the identification, some fun duck facts, and a range map. Here […]
In lieu of anything substantive to report, I present yesterday’s duck doings. We had about 15 hens, including Honey and 14 itinerants (some may be her offspring who have returned), as well as Dorothy and her six ducklings, for a total of 22 ducks. That’s a lot of duck chow! Fortunately, everyone’s getting along pretty […]
It’s been a while since the last duck report, and even today’s isn’t totally up to date. Suffice it to say that Dorothy and her six babies are doing well, and the babies are now “mini-ducks”, having lost all their down and become smaller versions of their mom. Honey was here until yesterday, but now […]
I have a ton of duck pics and videos, but it’s too damn hot to make a long post: I’m going home, take a nice shower, and maybe enjoy a 45-minute nap. But here are two pictures from the pond on this steamy afternoon. First, one of Dorothy’s six babies in its most awkward “punk […]
Honey’s brood is largely gone: the other day we were down to her (she’s molting and can’t fly), one offspring, and two itinerant hens. But lately, ducks have been returning, and judging by their behavior (grouping together and following Honey), up to five or six of them might be her offspring. We also harbor between […]
Yesterday I noticed for the first time that Dorothy’s ducklings, now 3½ weeks old, are starting to grow their adult feathers, so their duckling down will gradually disappear. The feathers start on the shoulders and wings (looking like epaulets) and also on the tail, and move forward and backwards till the two fields meet. Here […]
I have some videos of Dorothy’s babies (yes, still six) preening, dunking, and engaging in other watersports, but I’ll leave those until later this week. Today I’ll try to catch up on the photographs. First, the red-eared sliders, which are coming out often in the heat: No matter how old these are, they always […]
It’s 90°F (32.2º C) at the duck pond now, and, having fed both broods—we still have six offspring from Dorothy’s second brood, but Honey’s juveniles are flying away daily, so we’re down from 17 to 10—I’m covered with sweat. It’s too damn hot to do anything, and, as you’ll see below, the ducks know that, […]
UPDATE: Feeding everyone at the pond this morning, we could count only six ducklings with Dorothy. We found no stragglers, heard no peeping of lost babies, and could find no bodies. It’s pretty clear that one has vanished, and I suspect predation (perhaps raccoons or Cooper’s hawks). I am heartbroken. ___________________________ It’s been a while […]
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