Dougie

This is Dougie. He is a wild duckling.  My hubby named him.

When I inquired about the name, he said,  "You know", then  he sang, "Rubber Dougie, you're the one..."  See what I have to live with...

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If  you haven't read the saga of the wild ducks in our fish pond, you can catch up here and here.

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Here's Dougie's story...       

All of the ducklings--all 70+ of them-- eventually quit showing up at our pond a few weeks back and we were surprised but happy about that. But, now and again,  I still can't help but wonder where they go and if they survived because the smaller broods tend to be abandoned.

Well,  a few days ago, Dougie showed up all alone.  I was actually kinda excited since we think he is the very last one brought here and he was one  'only duckling'. This time, we actually didn't mind that he was there because he can't quack.  He opens his mouth over and over and over again, but nothing comes out.

It seems that Dougie's parents followed him back, too.  They show up sporatically, and this makes him happy for a while, but they eventually leave again to do whatever it is that ducks do. 

But Dougie stays. 

And, although we haven't said it out loud, I guess we will let him stay... since he's all alone and just getting his adult feathers (so he needs just another month to be able to fly).  And he's so cute.  And sad. But mostly because he's so quiet. 

I don't get out much...

...but I like it that way. And keeping an eye on the ducklings outside my dining room window is a terrific study for me. I don't profess to ever be a duck expert, but I can tell you now that ducks and humans have very similar traits, if you look hard enough.





The ducklings this spring showed up in this order:

• Mom(1) and Dad with 6, that are now only 3
• Mom(2) and Dad with 3, that are now 2
• Mom(3) with 10, that are now 9
• Mom(4) and Dad with 3, that are now 2
• Mom(5) with 11, all still here
• Mom(6) with 8, all still here

The first 6 were down to 5 within a few days and then I noticed that the babies would come alone with the parents following--it definitely reminded me of alcoholic parents, where the parents and children exchange roles. After only a week or so, Mom and Dad only showed up sporatically to feed. Sometimes, they all would all trot off together, but the babies would inevitably come back alone. When the babies were at the pond, it was obvious that they were outcasts.



Babies of Mom2 and Mom4 were abandoned when they were about a week old. [Guess I was off the mark thinking Mom2 was going to be attentive.] They would hang around, at a distance, to the Mom3, but spend some nights huddled together here at the pond.
Curiously, the male ducks would always run Mom4 away, much to my dismay. Mom and Dad's compromise would be to stay at the front of the house while the little ones would make their own way to the pond and back

The good news for all the orphans is that Mom3 eventually took them in and they are one HUGE family!! So, of course, I make sure they all get special attention--even when they make their way to the back door to beg for food!



I'm very proud of Mom5 and Mom6 who have succeeded in keeping the whole family intact. They must have some great hiding spaces for sleeping because they have only ever spent a night or two on the side of the pond.



Needless to say, it gets a bit loud and splashy when all 35 ducklings show up. And, with them all quacking and diving and molting and finding their wings, it's quite good entertainment!

By Christmas, they will all be gone and it will be quiet, once more.

They are everywhere!

A few days ago, we were surprised again by our second duck family. This time there were only three ducklings, but their dad is older (his colors are mature) and both parents appear to be much more experienced than the first pair.

All of this sharing of the pond is cute during the day, but last night, about 1AM, first mom came wandering to the pond with her four, which upset the trips' mom, of course, and...well, you can imagine the noise and splashing that ensued!!

Then, this morning, I hear babies cheeping and thought it was the trips, but it was the older babies crying. It bothers me a lot because mom and dad, both, had deserted them...again... but we know we mustn't interfere. I tell everyone, myself included, ...'we don't want pet ducks, we don't want pet ducks'.


In reality, the remaining four of them are old enough to huddle together for safety and they dive for the water when they are scared, so I'm not real worried about them as long as they stay closeby.

It's not unusual, but I still find it giggly that ALL the ducklings have connected the opening of the patio door with being fed, so they look like jet boats on a mission whenever the door rattles!

Some days I'm glad that they only take 3 months or so to learn to fly and head out on their own...and some days I feel sad about it.

^^^^^^^^^^NOTE^^^^^^^^^^

The morning after posting this entry, I awakened to find family #3 huddling on the side of the pond. This time mom brought 10 little peepers!

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Then on September 19, another mum with three ducklings showed up, and on September 20, a mom with 9 or 10 came to the pond, but got sidetracked in the drainage ditch.

I really don't think this is the end, either!!

Spring is early this year!

It's not the weather I'm talking about when I say that spring is early this year because, although it's not rained during daylight hours for the last two days, it's suppose to be below zero tonight [C, not F, thank the Lord].

The early spring is the arrival of our first ducklings for this year!

It was quite a surprise to see them on the pond this morning, so it was a quick snap of a pic before they were off again. Since they're early, we figure there will be at least one more brood, if not more, over the next few months for us to giggle over and feed.

Last year, we were pleased to have 8 of 12 that made it past infancy in one of our broods, but there are only six ducklings in this family. One of them is distinctively lighter in color than the other 5, so it will be interesting to see if he/she keeps those colors when the mature feathers come in.



Their arrival spurred us to 'furnish' the duck house with round stones for the family. The house is a pumphouse that Kevin converted specifically for the ducklings last year. [Ducky info: Mom warms up the rocks with her body heat so she can go for food without the babies getting cold].

BTW, that's my birthday bridge in the picture. The house owners built this...shall we say, inconvenient water feature at the edge of the pond. It takes up the walking space on the side of the house, so I mentioned that a bridge would be nice, and VOILE!! Kev worked out to have it built for me! Is that cool or what?!!

Hopefully, this will be the last cold snap of the season for me to complain about and we can get on with gardening and such. With the renegade daffodils and some crocuses [that we didn't plant] blooming, and the freesias, glads, rhodos, camellias and azaleas trying to bloom, it can't be to long before spring arrives. As always, we have unknown plants shooting up, so we will, once again, have some surpise arrivals.

I want spring!!

Cats, ducks and things that go with them

They say there are "dog people" and "cat people". I have never been impressed with any cat I have ever met and that's why I have always been a dog person.


My husband, on the other hand, is doing his best to change my mind. Before I got here,  he was a sucker with a cat-flap on his door [without owning a cat, mind you] and adopted the cocky little black furball that would be waiting for him at 1am when he got home from work. Hrumph.


So, now Bubba has us all pretty well trained. And, to make it all worse, hubby insists on teasing me by telling me that Bubba is 'my' cat. The audacity. Just because he doesn't think he is fed until I feed him. Just because he runs to me for protection from the rest of the family who love to pick him up and cuddle and virtually hold him captive because I simply ignore him most of the time. Just because I'm the only one he claws and bites--apparently, as a show of affection--when I occasionally rub his belly. Hmmm.


Am I a cat person, yet? The verdict is still out.


And I'm still waffling about the ducks, too. It's nice to have one or two on the pond. They are quite exquisite birds. I'd be lying if I said that each brood of ducklings that are led here every year aren't cute. And, it is quite interesting to study the heirarchy of the paddle [strange word, I know, but apparently correct] of ducks and especially watching the mama duck go to extreme lengths to protect her little ones until they can fly [about 3 or 4 months old] even when they are just as big as she is!


OK, it's kinda cute when they waddle up the stairs, across the patio and peck on the picture window in an effort to beg for food. On the other hand, all animals that eat must....um, eh, excrete. And, I suppose any excretion is eventually good fertilizer for the grass, but having to wash the patio down before I can walk out in my bare feet is more than a little irritating.

And, yes, I do wonder where they are when none of them show up for a couple of days. But, when they come back en masse, and I have to chase them off over and over because they fly off and make circles several times checking to see if it's clear to land again--well, those are the times when I'm glad that duck season is just around the corner.