Natural History

Posted in birds | Tagged Duck, duckling, mallard duck | 2 Comments

2 Responses

1. on May 24, 2013 at 3:52 pm Jan

   Had a duck named Mr. Peepers when I was very young. He was taken to a farm when he turned 2 and a friend reported back that he was eaten for dinner… Sending an animal to a farm is sometimes a risky business….

   
   
2. on May 26, 2013 at 6:45 am chervilmeadow

   This is the time of year when mallard mums amaze us with their obsessive (evolved) behaviour in their desire to get their family to a bigger stretch of water than the one where they originally nested and the family were born. A few days ago a family comprised of mother mallard and her eleven ducklings were apparently trying desperately to break into our local supermarket – by throwing themselves against the glass doors. The crowd of amused, besieged and concerned shoppers inside came to the conclusion that the doors must have looked like the stretch of water the duck family was seeking after leaving their nest in a nearby copse. The Tesco security man (with the aid of some of us customers) then proceeded to gently shepherd the duck family in the direction of a pond which was located about fifty metres down the road. It seems this had happened several times before and the staff knew how to deal with the situation.

   Have you noticed, they always have the sense to set off in a downhill direction, somehow sensing that water was less likely to lie uphill. Amazing too how the mother duck seems to realise the human shepherds may be trying to help her – or tell me,someone, what is the real explanation for this behaviour – the duck behaviour, that is.

   
   

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