In the beginning of May I noticed an impression next to my porch, just
under the arborvitae. At first I thought it was Nicholas digging. He said it
wasn't him, I was puzzled as to what it could be. Then I spotted this........
under the arborvitae. At first I thought it was Nicholas digging. He said it
wasn't him, I was puzzled as to what it could be. Then I spotted this........
We also saw a male mallard duck hanging out as well. They would walk
around our front and back yard, even visited neighbors. We thought
surely they're not going to actually lay eggs there! There's NO water,
with the exception of our bird bath, anywhere near here! We were
wrong because after a few days we saw this........
around our front and back yard, even visited neighbors. We thought
surely they're not going to actually lay eggs there! There's NO water,
with the exception of our bird bath, anywhere near here! We were
wrong because after a few days we saw this........
Low and behold, we have a crazy duck family taking up residence with us!
Of course, Nicholas was beside himself! Since the flag pole is right near
there, the Momma duck's name was soon Betsy Ross. The Daddy duck,
Paul Revere. The first duckling would be named Patriot, well, you get the
idea.... all the ducks would be named in that manner, he had 12 names
picked out.
We had to go to Florida for more than a month. While we were gone,
our neighbors kept an eye out for our house, and the ducks too. One
morning the duck eggs were gone! We figured a raccoon got 'em.
Just a few short days passed and the ducks were back with new eggs!
There were too many eggs to count! We returned late a Friday night in
June and early Saturday morning Betsy Ross was staying put while I was
weeding. She just watched me, never saying a word. I kept my distance
and before 10 am the first duckling, Patriot, was hatching! Using a zoom
and cropping to bring the picture in closer, this is what we caught....
Of course, Nicholas was beside himself! Since the flag pole is right near
there, the Momma duck's name was soon Betsy Ross. The Daddy duck,
Paul Revere. The first duckling would be named Patriot, well, you get the
idea.... all the ducks would be named in that manner, he had 12 names
picked out.
We had to go to Florida for more than a month. While we were gone,
our neighbors kept an eye out for our house, and the ducks too. One
morning the duck eggs were gone! We figured a raccoon got 'em.
Just a few short days passed and the ducks were back with new eggs!
There were too many eggs to count! We returned late a Friday night in
June and early Saturday morning Betsy Ross was staying put while I was
weeding. She just watched me, never saying a word. I kept my distance
and before 10 am the first duckling, Patriot, was hatching! Using a zoom
and cropping to bring the picture in closer, this is what we caught....
Notice to the right, Betsy pushed one aside. It was weird and half peeled like.
The most interesting part was after the first egg hatched the momma duck
cleaned it real well. When the second egg hatched, the first duck cleaned it.
Then when the third duckling came duckling one and two cleaned it and so on
and so on. After all the eggs hatched (except the one on the right) they ate
out the inside of all the cracked eggs. There were 9 ducklings total.
They were walking around by dinnertime. The main concern for both
Momma Betsy and myself was the ducklings walking/falling right off a
retaining wall or concrete step because there was no direct path without a fall
for them to ground level. Several times throughout the day Betsy would
'round up' some of the ducklings and shoo them back to the nest. She
actually didn't mind me gently shooing them without touching them back
either. It was like she'd take the right flank, I the left.
By the next morning everyone had moved on. There were no signs of any
other animal getting them. I'm assuming she took them to water
somewhere. We had considered several options of getting a small amount
of water source to them. We just didn't have time to get it done.
We sure do wish the little happy family well!
The most interesting part was after the first egg hatched the momma duck
cleaned it real well. When the second egg hatched, the first duck cleaned it.
Then when the third duckling came duckling one and two cleaned it and so on
and so on. After all the eggs hatched (except the one on the right) they ate
out the inside of all the cracked eggs. There were 9 ducklings total.
They were walking around by dinnertime. The main concern for both
Momma Betsy and myself was the ducklings walking/falling right off a
retaining wall or concrete step because there was no direct path without a fall
for them to ground level. Several times throughout the day Betsy would
'round up' some of the ducklings and shoo them back to the nest. She
actually didn't mind me gently shooing them without touching them back
either. It was like she'd take the right flank, I the left.
By the next morning everyone had moved on. There were no signs of any
other animal getting them. I'm assuming she took them to water
somewhere. We had considered several options of getting a small amount
of water source to them. We just didn't have time to get it done.
We sure do wish the little happy family well!
