January06

Monday, 2nd

Once more, happy new year to you all again. May 2006 turn out to be full of joy and excitement, and may we never lose another duck to foxes!

We've had a different wildlife visitor this morning, one we'd not seen before in our 7½ years here. We had just been watching 3 male pheasants moving up purposefully for their morning's scrounge of duck food. The last one decided he stood no chance and turned back towards the ditch. The other two had a face-off and a couple of fights - the ducks watching quite still - and it turned out that the one with the narrower white neckband was the dominant one. We decided to leave them to it and continued with our current jigsaw.

All of a sudden there was this flurry of ducks flying past the kitchen window straight into the frog pond. What had scared them so? Not the pheasants, they were used to them by now. We watched, and something rushed across the open gate to the duck enclosure and into the heap of logs. "A rat!" John shouted. "No", I said, "a squirrel, it had a bushy tail."

But no, it was a stoat. We were staggered by the speed with which it moved. It ran here, there and everywhere; all around the frog pond, in front of the conservatory and around the garage side of the enclosure. The ducks were in a panic rushing to the opposite side of where the stoat was. I had awful trouble trying to catch it on camera, it moved like lightning, but here are a couple of pics shot through the conservatory windows (in case you have trouble seeing it against the undergrowth I've put an arrow pointing to it):

I missed it on this third photo, but you can see how the ducks are squashing themselves against the middle pond.

I don't know whether to be happy about this wildlife visitor or whether to be worried for the ducks!

Saturday, 7th

We've not seen the stoat again. Might be just as well, they're little killers, aren't they. It's good to see that the ducks seem to be aware of danger. There was a stray dog in the garden today, and the ducks immediately dived into the frog pond.

Actually, I thought today might be the day they would go into the dedicated duck pond. They spent a lot of time down there staring at it, and I thought "any time now ...". But no, the thick green cover of duckweed remained undisturbed. I mean, they love the stuff. Several times I've scooped up a bucketful of it and tipped it at the edge of the frog pond, and they went for it straight away. And you'd think Fanny would remember the times she spent in there and would urge them in.

The photos I shot from the upstairs window, long distance and in the sleeting rain, are very poor, but you'll see where they were (the white dots roughly in the middle of the pictures on the very left):

We had spaghetti for lunch today. I always cook extra for them now. Next time I throw it to them I shall have to have the camera ready. The first time I gave them some I cut it up into short lengths. But not now. And the way they deal with these long strands is hilarious. They love pinching it off each other just like they do when one of them's got a bit worm. And Lily creased me up. When she kept jerking her head up to get the spaghetti into her gullet it got wrapped round and round her beak .................... not for long though!

Tuesday, 10th

The weather has been miserable all day, dark and dismal - at least we had a bit of brightness yesterday among the rain. But I managed to plant the Christmas tree.

The wind has blown most of the duckweed to the near side of the duck pond, and although the ducks again spent lots of time this morning looking at it they still haven't gone in.

I've spent quite a bit of time recently trying to find people who could give a new home to four of the drakes, 2 at a time I thought so they could add four females to the 2 and finish up with a happy half dozen. So far all adverts and phone calls have drawn a blank. But I'll keep trying!

Tried to get a shot out of the window this morning showing Olive standing on top of one of the mole hills, but the sound of the window opening drove them into the orchard. Just look how the moles have progressed right up to the garage:

Friday, 13th

More wildlife visitors this morning. No, not stoats, but a great flock of goldfinches! I can't remember seeing them this early in the year before.

They flitted over the lavender and potentilla in front of the conservatory. I took lots of shots through the windows, can you spot them? I've put an arrow pointing to the area where more than a dozen were picking seeds, and there are 3 visible, slightly larger, on the photo below:


The ducks came up to investigate and scared them temporarily, but I saw them flying about in various areas of the garden where I'd left seedheads - see, it helps to be just a little bit untidy in the garden!

When I crept too close to the conservatory door to take a better photo I scared them away and didn't see them any more.

Sunday, 15th

Yesterday the day was spent emptying the apple tree pond and cleaning and re-filling it. During the latter process I busied myself with opening up the mole runs where I could and shovelling at least some of the soil back in - then trampling like mad on the area to flatten it, good exercise! The ducks soon cottoned on that worms turned up when I used the spade, and had quite a feast. The area still looks somewhat battered, but flatter, like this:


I'm going to continue this all the way down to the stile and hope the stamping will scare the little velvety things back to the
grazing field next door!

The ducks are losing an awful lot of feathers again. Another moult?

Just preening? Or is it the fighting which happens quite frequently now. Must hurry and get the extra drakes placed. I've emailed a lot of friends to see if they can help.

Tuesday, 17th

We've said goodbye to the Twin and Baby this morning!

My Friday-Ad brought a result. A lovely-sounding lady from rural Derbyshire - not all that far away from here - rang yesterday morning requesting one or two drakes to run around on their smallholding. And this morning they came to fetch them. Samantha and Eric, a really nice couple whom we took to at once and who we shall keep in touch with.

We had a bit of bother catching them, but I picked the Twin and Baby because they were not agressive to each other and so would have at least one of their mates with them. We are certain they'll have a very happy life in Derbyshire.

If we can place two more like that it'll make the parting a lot easier. Our remaining 8 were somewhat shaken by all that chasing to catch 2 of their number, and it was a little time before they ventured out of their enclosure again. So as not to frighten them more I snapped through the window - Blob doing the arabesque below - but this second photo is a bit better. You can see Captain in front, Blob behind him and poor deformed Splodge on the right, Fanny ducking down behind these three, Lily marching off behind her, then Clarence and Donald - Olive being out of shot.

Thanks to everyone who's been trying to help us find good homes for our extra drakes!

Sunday, 22nd

Had a lovely phone call from Samantha in Derbyshire telling us that the "boys" have settled in, are eating well and are even getting on with their dogs. That was really good to hear. You always worry when you've brought littles ones up.

Carl's big birthday (6 months early!) surprise party went off extremely well last night, well done, Val! Annie and the girls were here for it and took some great pictures of the ducks tackling the spaghetti. Here are 2:



That's Splodge in this one who's got spaghetti wrapped around his beak, and can you see how the little tykes have got used to taking a short cut to the bottom of the frog pond through my ornamental grasses garden??