Daisy Duck

thats lovely, thank you for putting this on ~ will look forward to seeing the next photos.

What a lovely thing to see - I do hope there are some baby ducklings to come - Good Luck.

Fab ! I will be watching this space!

Oh how exciting, I do hope you get some photos. Is it a safe environment for ducklings, I'm thinking cats etc? A couple of years ago we had mallards nesting in our conifer hedge and ended up with 8 ducklings running round the garden. We had to round them up together with Mum and rehome them as there are so many cats around here, foxes too.

I have 2 cats at the moment they are scared of the ducks, but ducklings are something else. I'm thinking of going to the local RSPCA wildlife centre (stapleley grange) to get some advice. Its a worry.

I hope you see some babies :) But I hope the RSPCA will advise you on what to do.

that is lovely,will the fish be ok with them,and the cats are a worry too,what a brill thing to happen in your garden

Mallards usually have nests close to water but not on water. Maybe she has a nest in the garden somewhere, look for feathers, they pull feathers and cover their eggs up usually a deep nest also. The drake is probably keeping guard on the nest. I have known them nest in trees and the babies are then encouraged to drop several feet to the floor and off they go following mum to the water to learn how to swim. They are very clever creatures mallard ducks. Hope you get some babies learning to swim in your pond. Mind you they do disrupt the plant/vegetation life so you will have no plants left undisturbed in there.

Thanks Oliveoil, however the deck covers a much larger area that the part of the pond that goes under it, so to a duck it must appear as dense foliage or a natural hole, or a hole in a tree, or a very nice duck house! there is plently of space on nice dry land for her to build her nest and well chosen because nothing can get to her unless they swim. I have read that once she has laid the drake no longer hangs around which appears to have happened. My pond plants (and bedding plants once they are planted out) are a concern but what can I do other than feed her and make sure shes not hungry.

I agree Kfunsters, she will love you to keep feeding her. Hope she brings lots and lots of babies off for you to enjoy, they are such treasures baby ducks I love them. Didn't realise the decking went so far back. Is she sitting on the eggs yet? They usually sit for about 26/28 days roughly. Don't forget to put some pictures on when she brings them for their swim.

the first time I saw the pair was on the 10th of March and then again on the 12th. I saw Donald by himself it must have been the 25th. He only leaves once he is certain all the eggs are laid and the nest is save and so he won't have to father anymore. So 21st or 22nd April maybe the duck due dates, they should all hatch within 24 hours and then be on the water 10 hours later, how sad I'm becoming a duck expert lol:-))

The ones we had nesting were 15' up in the conifer hedge and had to jump down but there was no water nearby apart from next doors swimming pool! The male was on rooftop sentry duty for a week or two before disappearing but we didn't know why at the time. Seems like the males get all the fun then push off !

We had one sitting on top of an old aviary, she used to come down to feed each day and then when the babies where hatched she jumped down and they followed on behind. quite a strange thing to see - I was worried sick they would hurt themselves but they were all fine.

oh wow my HUGE smile for the day reading this - can't wait for the update

**dare I say - you lucky duck ... cough - sorry bout that =))

Thanks Cate - Its nice to have them but something tells me there's trouble ahead - but as I've told people about Daisy everybody wants to come and see the ducklings -I think I'll charge entrance and sell tea and scones on the lawn lol.

Another bit of Duck info - she will only leave the eggs for 20-30 mins a day so she can wash, drink and eat this is what she has been doing.

Very interesting blog...
looking forward to more :o)

Great blog and pics, she`s obviously moved in for a while......

any ducklings yet?

No not yet Sticki, all I know is that she goes under the deck, we can not see her once shes under. The worry is we haven't seen her in recent days - saying that she would be easy to miss as she only leaves the clutch for 20 mins a day.
Also I have pulled an egg out from the bottom of the pond, (see latest blog) and as it was at the bottom, I assume it was fertilised. I thnk it may have rolled from the nest.
Maybe tomorrow Sticki. As soon as I see them (if I see them) I'll grab the camera and post the photos straight away.

that wil be lovely, im sure she wont be able to keep lots of little ducklings under the deck so you should soon see them!