Yesterday Mom and Dad got back from the ranch. When Dad when back to their bedroom and looked in our pool, he was surprised with the sight of a mama duck and eleven ducklings swimming around! We knew that a pair of ducks had been frequenting our pool in the last six weeks, but we didn't know Mama had build a nest back in the corner under a bush. Sadly, after watching them for a while, we realized the babies couldn't get out of the pool. We made them their own stairway on top of the highest step out of bricks, but they wouldn't go to it. So...Mom chased them around the pool with the skimmer while I herded with a broom. When she got one in the skimmer, Mom would fling them into the bushes as quickly as possible (otherwise they tended to fall either back into the water or on something hard). I had to pick up several by hand to transport them (they aren't nearly as quick on land). They are about hand-sized too. So cute!
Well, Mama Duck moved them down into another part of the back yard that got them stuck, so Mom and I found two pieces of wood shelving. One became a buoyant ramp out of the pool and the other a ramp from a low part of the yard back into the planter that contained their nest. They got the hang of that pretty quickly. So far this morning, they've spent their time sunning on the concrete, swimming in the pool, and nesting in the greenery.
The UP Animal Control officer that convinced us to let them stay (in a real pond they'd be turtle food at this age) said that Mama will come back to us next year to lay her eggs again. She called our backyard a duck heaven. Oh, and I'd love to post pictures, but I'm not yet prepared to do so on this computer. But when I can, I will.
1 comment:
Ducklings are so cute! They were all over the place at our last apartment complex. But they do tend to get stuck places. I remember last year one Saturday Bryan and I could not figure out what was frantically squeaking all morning. We finally went outside to investigate and found a duckling that had fallen into a hole and needed to be helped to freedom. (That hole was a duckling trap, I'm convinced--we ultimately had to rescue five or six.)
Can't wait to see pictures! (What does Murphy say?)
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