Cyn's Nature Notes: Odd/Interesting Duck Behaviour

Monday 22 April 2013

Odd/Interesting Duck Behaviour

I rose this morning to find one of the male ducks - a mallard already on the side lawn, his feathers were very ruffled, his tail splayed, wings slightly dropped and his beak constantly opening and shutting. I opened a window and fed him, he ate very greedily and quickly as I expected he would, however all the time his tremors continued.

It is now an hour later, he is still on the lawn, suffering the same tremors, constantly grooming, opening and closing his beak and ruffling his feathers.

This is unusual behaviour, I wonder has he been knocked by a car, does he have some sort of degenerative disease, has he eaten some sort of tainted food which has resulted in a neurological disorder, has he sat on an ant's nest and is even now being covered in ant bites? Thoughts run through my mind and I wish I knew the answer, he seems so uncomfortable.

Another hour has passed, he is in the same position and still acting in the same strange manner, for about half an hour he had company as the other male flew down and joined him, any jealous animosity between the two appeared to be forgotten. During his time here the second one ate, drank and bathed in the pond despite this he still spent more than twenty minutes with the "agitated" duck, sitting side by side and often bill to bill. Eventually he flew away having shown none of his previous antipathy toward the "poorly" duck --- indeed he seemed to show a rare friendliness toward him.

It is a few hours now and still he sits and shakes, his behaviour has changed slightly though as he sometimes stands on tiptoe and stretches out his wings and flaps them.

Suddenly the female flew down from her nest on the garage roof, she rushed across to the feeding station to eat, but of course this was where the agitated duck was, immediately and still shaking he began harassing her. "Ah," I thought, "this is his trouble, he is in a high state of sexual arousal, funny I have never seen this behaviour before though". The poor female did her best to fend him off while she ate, in the end giving up feeding as a bad job she made her way to the pond, she was obviously distressed, her head was withdrawn and her beak open and upward pointing, her body in a ball. She was thwarted here also by the male, still shaking he rushed after her, entering the water at the same time as she did and immediately copulated with her.She was clearly distressed by his behaviour and tried unsuccessfully to fend him off. Afterwards he climbed out of the pond sat by the edge and resumed his agitated shaking.My theory about him being in a high state of sexual arousal is clearly nonsense!

Two hours later he was still sitting by the pond shaking, and he continued to do so for the rest of the day.

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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.