Duck Story

This is the story of yesterday's duck.

Many ducks are born on our little stretch of shore each year; many, many chicks are eaten by the resident gulls and crows.  Last year and this, nests have been ravaged by a mink whose footsteps we saw in the snow last winter.

Yesterday's duck had the good fortune to be part of a late brood born at the end of August in a neighbour's garden.  They were still hugely at risk from all the usual hazards.  But Momma Duck has done an amazing job and all nine of them are still alive.  This is them looking up at me on the garden wall this evening, hoping for food.

They are unusually tame and trusting.  Yesterday's duck was almost standing on my toes in the burn.  Several times a day Momma Duck leads them on a circuit of our small, sheltered bay.  There's an image of them taken on 2nd September in extras and I've put a set over on Picasa  showing how they have grown. and the choreography of their final circuit of the bay this evening.

I find it very moving to see them being kept safe and trained by their mother and, above all, surviving and giving us intimate glimpses into their lives every day.