Cyn's Nature Notes: New Mallard Mother

Monday, 6 April 1992

New Mallard Mother

Mike has cut the grass and I love the contrast between the newly cut, neat lawns, and the borders of wild untrammeled beds, filled to overflowing with masses of bright spring flowers.

The mallards seem to have adopted us and have settled down well, he is standing one-legged this side of the pond with his bright yellow bill resting on his fat chest. The mother mallard rests folded up and egg-shaped, camouflaged amongst the rocks at the far edge of the pond, indeed if you didn’t know her habits you would be hard pressed to find her.

I fear they have eaten the tadpoles, their gain is my loss, and I shall try again next year, keeping some aside to be carefully nurtured indoors.

I had hoped for the delights of seven fluffy, golden ducklings, crocodiling around the garden, plopping into and scrambling out of the pond, but this might not happen as I have a feeling this mallard mother is a first year duck herself, her eggs are very small and her egg-laying quite sporadic.

Indeed her eggs seem an inconsequential part of her life, she drops them in passing, does not brood them, in fact she walks on with never a backwards glance – still it is early in the season and who knows, many things change with time, not having been, as they seemed to us, while we were caught up in the throes of present happenings.

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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.