Cyn's Nature Notes: Return of the Ducks

Monday, 18 May 2009

Return of the Ducks

The ducks are well and truly back, they arrived about a month ago, they are mating manically causing tidal waves in the pond, the once sparkling crystal clear water is now a dirty greenish brown colour. The fish which so delighted us a few weeks ago are now nowhere to be seen, having gone into hiding and the brief sighting of the newt with the beautiful orange underside is clearly not going to be repeated any time soon. The tadpoles that managed in their spawn state to survive the goldfish, will no doubt have been syphoned up by the ducks.

Mrs. Duck is now becoming increasingly hungry. Today at tea-time she ate a large handful of peanuts, two of mixed bird seed, a slice and a half of bread soaked in water and on her hurried way to the pond she rushed toward a squirrel at such a rate she caused him to start and drop the half a digestive biscuit he was eating, and then as if to add insult to injury she stopped, snatched it up in her beak and carried it with her to the pond!

It is with pleasure I note that a wren has made her home inside an ancient blue tit box, tied together with string and wedged into a fork in the pear tree. Nearby on a grass verge is growing a bee orchid, my delight in finding it was unbounded, fortunately I had my camera with me and could photograph it.

The garden has many delightful Orange Tip butterflies (Anthocharis Cardomines). Adults have wings that have white uppersides and green mottled undersides. It is the males that have the beautiful striking orange tip on their wing, while the females have a blackish grey tip. The caterpillars are found on cuckoo flowers, ladies smock, jack by the hedge and honesty, although for some reason survival on the honesty is limited.

I know some people catch and kill white butterflies thinking they are all 'cabbage whites' – this is not so, and these beautiful butterflies need to be enjoyed, as the females although white will do no harm to your cabbages, etc., but being female are vital for the breeding of the next generation. To witness male orange tips and their all white partners dancing daintily through the air is a sight to lift the spirits.

No comments:

Post a Comment

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.