Cyn's Nature Notes: The Drake and the Fox

Monday 4 June 2012

The Drake and the Fox

Yesterday the female duck hung around all day, constantly asking for food and spending time sitting by the patio window. I wondered where her partner was and during the afternoon she had trouble with a marauding male who we chased off.

This morning we still have not seen her partner. A short while ago walking on the lawn we noticed large duck feathers still with skin attached. I think the very thing we have worried about may have happened, that is the drake of our pair of ducks has fallen prey to the fox family.

This is not so surprising because the ducks would often still be ambling about the garden, during the time in the early evening, when the foxes were here, and I have always been aware of the danger, but so tame were the ducks that it was impossible to make them leave, no amount of hand clapping would have any affect, sometimes they would get up and waddle off to another part of the lawn, but mostly they just stared at us heads on one side, clearly wondering what we were doing.

Throughout the years I have wished the pond were large enough to support a small island in the centre where the ducks could rest undisturbed and in safety. I could not prevent the ducks being here or using the pond and am sad that the very thing that concerned me has now happened.

I suppose although sad, it was better this way than the duck being squashed by a car roaring along the lane, as we have witnessed at times, at least this way it probably provided nourishment for the young foxes.

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About this Blog

When we moved to our present home in December 1987, I was very ill and bedridden. My garden was a life-saver, although it was very different then. The first thing I did was to put up bird-feeders, and long hours were spent lying indoors in a recliner. This was when I discovered many things. Do you know the underside of every blue tit’s tail is differently marked? Gradually, over the years, the garden changed. We put in shrubs and plants that would not only enhance the garden, but would also be good for wildlife. The first rabbit we saw was so joyful for us. The deer eat the flowers, prune the apple trees, eat the marrow, and are wonderful to watch. Foxes have been a major part of our wildlife. We have fed them each night for more than 20 years. They are such a delight, especially in late summer and early autumn when there are youngsters. They behave like puppies and are great fun to watch.

I love all wildlife: the mason bees that nest in the brickwork of the bungalow, the hornets that last year made their home in the roof above our bedroom, the bees currently nesting in the roof above the bathroom. On a hot evening, if you stand quietly in the bathroom, you can hear this amazing sound: it is very rhythmic and reminds me of the waves at the seaside. It is made by the beating of the bees’ wings as they fan their nest to keep the temperature at the right level -- how many people have heard that sound? I feel so privileged.

Obviously, I feed the birds. When I open the window in the morning I call “Come on Bobby and Blackie”, and one followed swiftly by the other they fly immediately to the bird table. Each morning, on rising, I make my way to the kitchen and find the squirrels already sitting on the window ledge waiting to be fed. Winter brings the moorhens and spring time the mallards. Our pond is a poor effort from a human point of view, but wild creatures see it differently. On summer days, the grass snakes spend long hours in the pond: eating the fish, froglets, toadlings, newts, and any other living creature they can swallow. Although I hate to see the pond emptied this way, I do enjoy the snakes and feel they are an important part of the balance of nature in the garden. Watching a dragonfly nymph climbing out of the pond, up a plant stalk, and then over the next few hours gradually transforming into a beautiful dragonfly -- these are contented hours well spent.

It has been my pleasure to write and publish a nature column each month. I am always delighted to hear how much pleasure this brings to my readers. I have often been asked if I have written a book, so I am making more of my writings and photography available through this web site and blog.