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Original poster

NOT what I expected to wake up to this morning...

969 replies

AlanThePig · 18/10/2020 15:12

Some of you might recall we have a rather large pond in our garden. On it we have a pair of ducks. First day of lockdown appeared ten, beautiful ducklings. They grew up, flew away and that was that until next spring.

Except I woke up to this......
There are ten more (seven in this photo) and I can only assume the warm weather has thoroughly confused her.

I'm now going spend the next few months fretting over bloody wildlife.

NOT what I expected to wake up to this morning...

OP posts:

Thread gallery

RedRosie · 03/12/2020 11:13

101namesforme · 03/12/2020 11:27

So cute!

RegretnaGreen · 03/12/2020 11:33

I have not read the full thread but I have found (don't ask me how) that pouring human urine around the garden will keep foxes away to a degree.

Original poster

AlanThePig · 03/12/2020 11:51

@RegretnaGreen

I have not read the full thread but I have found (don't ask me how) that pouring human urine around the garden will keep foxes away to a degree.

They live fairly harmoniously, wild ducks are pretty smart when it comes to foxes, I think it's more pet ducks that aren't quite as savvy.

We had some lovely cubs earlier in the year that created absolute havoc around the pond, digging, stealing solar lights, shouting at each other all night. Whilst rewinding the CCTV to see what on earth they had been up to we also came across a rather fat badger. I put a wildlife camera out in the hope of capturing more of Mr Badger but it didn't happen. I did however get lots of shots of curious cubs...

OP posts:

RandomMess · 03/12/2020 12:43

Clearly slacking in the timely provision of luxury foul feed...

TracyBeakerSoYeah · 03/12/2020 17:59

How ridiculously cute is that fox cub!

Horsemad · 03/12/2020 19:10

Oh that cub is adorable! ❤️

Christmasfairy2020 · 03/12/2020 20:58

This is lovely. Is this your own personal pond on your back garden or isit on front. We have a pond 5 mins walk from us with lots of wildlife. I'll be looking tomorrow for ducklings but some houses near us have the lake literally on front of house xxx

Christmasfairy2020 · 03/12/2020 20:59

Do you luve in the countryside xx

Original poster

AlanThePig · 03/12/2020 22:38

@christmasfairy2020 it's all ours. It's a natural pond and the modern estate was built around it. It's many hundreds of years old. It's at the front of the house which gives us the nice advantage of being right back away from everyone.
it's not in the countryside. We're on the edge of a pretty large city, life sprung up around the pond and what used to be the famlandsI think. To one side of us, behind a bit of a wood, lies a dual carriageway. It is classed as a village here, but it's not really what you'd imagine as a village. That said, we are reasonably close to countryside, close enough to maintain the fox and badger population.

I never imagined this much wildlife for its setting when we moved here. Funnily enough DH and I were discussing it tonight as we drove past a house we had also considered at the time. Polar opposite, 3 storey,in the middle of the city center and no garden to speak of but a small patch of land that bordered the main canal. He said as we drive past "we would never have been happy there you know" and I think he's absolutely right.
For all I moan about clearing goose shit and worrying about ducklings all night, I wouldn't change it for the world.

OP posts:

RandomMess · 04/12/2020 07:44

When we lived in an urban are we had loads of foxes, now we live on the edge of the city but very close to open farmland and AOB never see or here them. Until the neighbours backing on to the close built a fence to replace their hedge there used to be the occasional deer 😍 lots and lots of squirrels and birds of prey though.

Are Mium and Dad still out on the razz again every night?

Horsemad · 04/12/2020 12:20

We used to have a fox come down the field next to us - same time every night. Creatures of habit?

Original poster

AlanThePig · 04/12/2020 12:40

Are Mium and Dad still out on the razz again every night?

Not lately no, can only assume it's far too cold for partying 😂
I've not witnessed any flying attempts yet either. Given snow here for the next few days as well.

OP posts:

Christmasfairy2020 · 04/12/2020 21:32

Lovely we live on a new modern estate on a country edge. The lake is all private as well its lovely. I really would like to be in one of the houses that directly faces the lake like yours :) but I shell have to settle for a 5 min walk

Just make sure the grates are covered. As some of ours was falling through the grates. Luckily neighbour saw them pulled them out and popped a cover over. So cute baby ducks and cygnet xx

Soubriquet · 05/12/2020 09:27

How are they coping with the snow?

Original poster

AlanThePig · 05/12/2020 11:03

@Soubriquet

How are they coping with the snow?

Disappointingly, we don’t have any

It’s bloody cold and I’ve noticed they are increasingly having a wander around the pond as well as huddling, but no snow at all. I was really hoping to wake up to the white stuff as well.

They are now coming to the front door a fair bit as well. I think they realise that DH panic slightly when they are there in case the cat appears, so he rushes out to feed them. They’ve certainly twigged that service comes much quicker if they stand on the door mat shouting. They don’t even quack properly yet either, it’s like a funny little high pitched whistle.

OP posts:

igotdemons · 05/12/2020 11:31

Just seeing this thread for the first time today 😍 @AlanThePig thank you for looking after your local wildlife! 🥰 Those ducks are absolutely gorgeous and very lucky they have you looking out for them. I am a massive duck fan and was converted a few years ago when I volunteered at my local wildlife rescue centre. We used to get lone ducklings brought in by different people, which would all be put together in an incubator and I used to be stunned going in every week and seeing how quickly they would grow from one week to the next! 😱 I used to love it when they got big enough to come out of the incubators so I could create a makeshift ‘pond’ with the bottom of a large cage and watch them have the time of their lives! 😍 OMG though, they were SO stinky and messy (a lot of people hated cleaning the ducks out because of this), you just couldn’t believe it! 😱😂 I would leave them out in the room with me all day whilst I cleaned all the other rescues out and the floor would be absolutely disgusting by the end of the day (always the last thing to be cleaned obviously). They’d have an absolute ball though! 🤣 I used to love giving them mealworms and watching them hoovering them up enthusiastically. Bless their little souls, love them. ❤️

Soubriquet · 05/12/2020 11:57

Awwwww...dh is duck whipped

thinkingaboutLangCleg · 05/12/2020 12:16

Duckdates please

Yes please! This is a lovely thread.

Ratbagcatbag · 05/12/2020 13:09

This thread is just gorgeous. :) I'm going to be following now in the hope they all fledge safely.

Original poster

AlanThePig · 07/12/2020 10:39

I think I’m wanted😂

OP posts:

Horsemad · 07/12/2020 10:56

😆 They're huge! Must be all that good food. 🙂

Original poster

AlanThePig · 07/12/2020 11:19

Thought I’d posted this last week but can’t see it. They made a determined effort to sink the house....
Fortunately they didn’t manage it but we definitely need something a bit bigger for the next lot.

OP posts:

Horsemad · 07/12/2020 13:01

😂

RandomMess · 07/12/2020 13:07

Well your DH needs to crack on with Duckingham Palace...

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