Thursday, March 13, 2014

Three Ducks In My Pool


There is a pair  of ducks, male and female, that comes to my pool now that it is the season. They sit on the edge of the pool or dive in and swim around, sticking close together. They are a sweet couple and have come to my pool for many years now

Today I witnessed a third duck, a male, dive into the pool from overhead. He immediately headed towards the male and female pair as they swam near the southeast corner. The female quickly took off towards the opposite end of the pool.

The newcomer male duck turned to follow her, and the male duck partner followed in rough pursuit. At this, the female duck hopped out of the water and stood on the west edge of the pool.

The male partner of the female duck kept tailing the newcomer duck. Every time the newcomer male headed toward the female duck sitting on the west edge of the pool, her male partner would swim to cut him off. The newcomer male was never given the chance to approach the female duck.

I went back to the kitchen table to finish my noshing. Suddenly I heard water splashing and duck quacking. I went to the kitchen window again to observe.

The female was again (or maybe still) standing on the west edge of the pool and the two male ducks stayed in the water. The male duck partner of the female duck always kept  himself between the female duck and the newcomer duck, which was larger.

After a while they both hopped up onto the north edge of the pool. The newcomer duck stood quietly. The male partner of the female duck would stick his head into the pool and then preen himself. The male partner was constantly moving about, sticking his beak into the water or pecking at his wings. The newcomer duck stayed its ground but stood very still and made no moves.

I am now upstairs in my office and have no idea whether the three ducks are still there, but it is interesting to note that as of last observation, the newcomer duck was not able to get near the female duck.


6 comments:

David Oliver said...

Lorna,

How good! I love ducks. Those two are beauties and that is an excellent photo of them.

I don't know anything about their mating habits but from your description I wonder if they mate for life.

I'm really sorry I've missed some of your blogs. I had looked for a "follow" button on your site but didn't see one. It is okay. I'll add you to my "check often" list and to my links page.

Lorna said...

To David Oliver:

The picture I found in the internet, but the ducks look exactly like the ones that visit my pool. I am sorry to see you go.

Lorna

David Oliver said...

I'm thinking of it as a working vacation. :)

But things have begun to settle down and I'm thinking about what I'm going to do when I begin blogging again. Right now, my thoughts are about doing a regular blog and try to finish Bugsy offline and publish it. Of course if I do that I'll give you all a free copy of it if you want it.

DJan said...

Don't they mate for life? If so, the male partner is protecting her honor, don't you think? :-)

HermanTurnip said...

That's pretty cool! Nature at its finest. Heh...

It a shame, but the closest thing to wildlife that deems to visit my backyard would be a few insects and perhaps a hummingbird or two. :-(

Unknown said...

Hi Lorna! My name is Cameron Von St. James and I had a quick question for you! I was wondering if you could email me at your earliest convenience at cvonstjames AT gmail DOT com :-) I greatly appreciate your time!!

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