One Little Duckling

Our curiously mild weather has the ducks thinking it is Spring. There is one little duckling being guarded by an entire flock of Muscovy ducks. Mom and Dad are probably a young breeding pair who don’t remember that we had an ice storm last February. All the ducks have excellent shelter in the roots of some large trees. They are guarding her for another reason…

As I approached the ducks, I could hear the crows mobbing so I looked for a predator and found one. This is a beautiful Cooper’s Hawk who was just minding his own business but was not welcome. I was shooting into the sun so couldn’t get a clear image of him. The silhouette is quite effective at giving a sinister feel.

By contrast, this lovely pair of Egyptian Geese were utterly chill and refused to move for me. Our relationship has progressed. They are new to the pond and last week they hissed (cussed in Arabic) at me. After a very long conversation, they have decided I am safe.

I found a new visitor last week – a nutria. She allowed me to come really close and have a good look at her thick coat and long tail. They are an invasive species from Latin America and look like little capybaras or beavers. Usually the Park Ranger removes them so that they don’t damage the integrity of the containment pond – they burrow extensively. The one time that I have seen them up close and I didn’t have my camera! C’est La Vie…

Image of Nutria, courtesy of Pixabay

Ducks watching Ducks

It’s been a while since I strolled around the containment pond with my pesky eye irritation. As I rounded the curve, I could hear the panicked high pitched peeps of the whistling ducks. The parents ran away from the grass where they were nesting with babies in tow and splashed into the water. The bombproof Muscovy ducks just sat and watched with perplexment. They live here year around and are domesticated – nothing to fear from humans who feed them (and keep them warm when it snows). The whistling ducks are migratory so are pretty feral and very skittish.

This year we have a bumper crop of whistling ducks to go back to Latin America. Dozens and dozens of lovely wee non-ducks, as we call them as they are neither ducks nor geese. The ducklings are just precious little ‘stripes’. I didn’t see any Muscovy ducklings this year but I think this lot are all the same family. It’s doubtful that would stop them getting frisky, though… Red faces not red necks?

On my trek back, I got a better photo of the six Muscovy Ducks. Don’t they look dapper in their evening wear? I like the touch of taupe in the middle duck and the silver one is my favorite. They look ready for the Oscars or whatever the Duck equivalent is.

Muscovy Ducks

This handsome fellow was sitting by the edge of the pond, watching us but not prepared to move until we showed signs of wanting to predate him. I have eaten duck (European upbringing) but it is quite strong meat not even helped by a la orange sauce. The traditional fowl to eat at Christmas in Britain was goose but it is also quite gamey. Since I am almost vegetarian, this duck was quite safe as was his beautiful family. The last time we photographed them was a few months back when they were tiny ducklings. They were very intent on eating their Thanksgiving pond weed which seemed to be delicious. I didn’t know much about Muscovy ducks until I researched them. Many of them are domesticated but these are wild ducks at the northern edge of their territory which extends from central America to the southernmost tip of south-east Texas.

As I was writing this, I gave my husband my best Donald Duck impersonation. He thinks it is pathetic because I am not making actual words but I think it is pretty good. He is just jealous of my skills…