Nearly Grown -- Duckling Update!

 

Tess's remaining six ducklings are nearly full grown. Seriously, they are almost as big as she is!


Baby mallards all look like females for a period of time before the males get their distinctive blue-green head and other markings. At first, three of the ducklings were getting a white edge on their wings, similar to females. I was convinced that meant there were possibly three males and three females. However, a day or two later, I noticed that the remining ducks had the white feathers, too. So, either they all are females, or it's still too soon to tell!

Today, Tess and ducklings showed up with a seventh in tow! It's also a mallard and is a little darker than the others, so it's obvious it's one she picked up along the way and not one of hers. She's been a good mother and apparently has adopted this little "orphan".

Very sweet!

Duckling Update...

This is Tess, the mallard, and her six surviving ducklings who were featured in my blogpost dated May 3rd.

The very next morning, she was down six babies. Sad, but it's how nature works...perhaps that why they hatch out so many to start. Shortly after, I noticed that Tess was limping, but still faithfully making the journey from the glade to my front yard to feed her babies. Then, the visits stopped...

I walked down to the glade to investigate and she was there with the remaining ducklings. For about a week, I brought corn to the glade for them to eat. Then, just before I left for vacation, they returned and Tess's leg seemed no worse for wear. My friend, Sharon, reported that she brought them daily while I was gone. My neighbor, Lou, also reported that they were also visiting her new pond and wreaking havoc on her young water plants. I gathered that we did not share the same fondness for Tess and babies!

The ducklings still have much of their fuzzy down but they are starting to get their wing feathers. They are still targets for predators and I will feel much relieved when they can at least fly away from danger. But, Tess has been a good mother to her remaining young and hopefully will keep them safe a bit longer.

As you can see, they all look like they are females...but all mallards do at this age. When they are a bit older, it will be easier to distinguish males from females. By then, they will probably have long departed from my yard -- for this year! Undoubtedly, those that survive the winter (and hunting season) will be back next spring and I will have a bumper crop of ducks who sing for their supper. Better stock up on corn now!

Make Way for Ducklings!

Here, on Chincoteague Island, ducks rule! They are everywhere -- people even stop their cars to let them cross the road. We coexist with them and as a result, the wild ducks have become semi-tame.

Before I moved to the beach full-time a few years back, I made the house available to vacation renters. Somewhere along the line, someone apparently started feeding the ducks. So, my first spring here, ducks started showing up at my door -- literally! One I named Fiona was so bold that she would bang on it with her beak! Over the years, some have come and gone -- such as the sweet Daisy and Dartagnan, who were such regal older ducks.

This little duck mommy is called Tess and these are her twelve -- yes, twelve -- ducklings who showed up at my house on Wednesday. Tess had been coming here with her mate, Ted. Then, I noticed that they started showing up separately. What that meant was that she was on a nest somewhere. I don't know if the mallard males sit for females when they need to eat or stretch their legs. If so, that would explain why they no longer came together.

In any event, it is now Sunday and all twelve have survived to this point. There are many hazards to these darlings -- snakes, cats, and most of all, gulls. In fact, one gull swooped down while they were feeding that first day, but I let out a scream and it flew away. My cat, Lola, has watched them curiously, but has not made a move toward them. I am hoping the fact that she will soon have kittens is making her maternal in some way toward Tess. I think the reality is that she just feels like a big whale at this point and doesn't have enough energy to do anything more, which is fine by me. In actuality, neither she nor Zane, my other cat, have ever brought home "presents", which I appreciate!

Two other mallards, Dirty and Diana, were recently trying to look for a spot in the backyard to nest. That attempt lasted about two days, thanks (or no thanks, actually) to Syd, now nicknamed "Syd Vicious"! She would have no part of these interlopers and relentlessly chased the two from the yard until they finally gave up. Phoenix was terrified of them and kept her distance! (FYI, poor Dirty, who has been coming here for about three years, got his moniker because his face always appeared to be dirty. When I was finally able to get close enough, I could tell that the "dirt" was actually color variations on his facial feathers. But, by then, the name had stuck!)

Back to Tess...she has been faithfully bringing her babies here several times a day to eat. Then, she travels with them about 200 feet to what I would describe as a marshy glade. In this sheltered spot, the ducklings can swim and are much safer from cats and gulls.

In any event, I will keep everyone posted about their progress!