30 May 2012
Posted by Dave under Dave's Thoughts
Duck!
So, I open up the front door today and step out side when, all of a sudden, there is this wild commotion in the shrub right beside me. Scared me out of a year’s growth! (Something I can ill-afford as there is an outside chance that my eldest son is contemplating being as tall as I am. It’ll never happen!)
Anyway, the next thing I see is a female Mallard duck flapping madly into the air from behind my irises. Once my pulse returns to normal, the answer to the question, “GAAH! What was that?!” becomes fairly readily apparent. 7 eggs nestled together in a nest under the spirea. We will have ducklings in the yard in about 3 or 4 weeks.
Update: Here is a picture of Momma duck and a shot of the nest on Saturday (3 June). I found out that Mallards typically lay 10 to 12 eggs, 1 per day. There was no new egg on Sunday, so maybe 10 will be it. Although the duck is still skittish, we can come and go through the front door as long as we make our way in and out without making sudden moves or noises.
