Conclusion: … and then there were 4 then 2

May 25th, 2013     0 comments     permalink

The two ducklings were too young to survive the cold night

May 23: As temperatures plunged, the count of ignored ducklings increased to four with the addition of another newborn, the same size and probably from the same brood as the one that joined the older chicks the day before.

One of the day-olds got stuck in a cement crack for a minute but he got out with a little struggle

The older ducklings ate while the younger ones just sat on the duck chow "dust"One of them got caught in a cement crack for a moment (above) but wiggled his way out in short order. You can see by these pictures how quickly ducks grow. The older ones are twice as big in just seven days. I still haven’t found the brood providing these ducklings so they aren’t included in the Fertility Tournament count. The hen wasn’t seen with the ducklings from this day on.

The difference in size is considerable considering they are only seven days apartTemperatures plunged to just above freezing here. Hypothermia is a major killer of ducklings during their first weeks of life. While I think it’s almost always best to let Nature carry on without human interference, if I had the proper equipment to catch these little guys, I would have taken them home until nighttime temperatures returned to normal. (It would be an act of civil disobedience. It’s against Federal and state laws to raise wildlife without a license.)

May 24: This tale doesn’t end well. The next night, only the two older ducklings were found. It’s possible the younger birds found refuge with their mother or a generous hen, but it’s likely they died from freezing temperatures. I might find the brood from which they wandered but their fate will remain a mystery.

The older ducklings were vigorous in their movements, the younger ones not so much

Part 4: … the ducklings met neighbors …

May 25th, 2013     0 comments     permalink

A Canada goose dines with a week old duckling at the Brighton millpond

May 22: While none of the ducks or geese made efforts to adopt the wayward trio, the birds treated them well. Geese usually let ducks know they aren’t welcome if the quantity of food is scarce with a quick nip. Ducks normally keep a neck length away so they don’t get bit. As you can see here, the goose was more tolerant with a duckling as they ate. It’s not unusual to see Mallard drakes nip at tiny ducklings when they compete for food but none chased these unguarded chicks away that night.

Part 3: … then there were 3 …

May 25th, 2013     0 comments     permalink

None of the adults paid attention to them

May 21 & 22: On Tuesday evening when I arrived at the pond, I heard loud peeping coming from the water. Two ducklings (Brood3, I suspect) were in the emerging lily pads calling for their mom. Once you become familiar with this call, it stands out from the other noises. Mom wasn’t nearby.

Three ducklings mosey around the pond alone The two older ones stuck together while the younger one watched

The hen swam into the night with three ducklings trailing herA third duckling had joined them near twilight. It was smaller, only a day old. I couldn’t find any hens with newborns at the pond that night so I have no idea where it came from. The trio moved along the Main Street shore looking for things to eat.

Creching” happens at well populated ponds. In their first days of life, goslings and ducklings can’t recognize their parents and parents can’t recognize their own chicks. Chicks will blindly follow other chicks so, if two broods swim near each other, the chicks sometimes follow the wrong crowd home. Moms can’t count so they don’t notice. The largest duckling creche I’ve seen at the millpond is 21 ducklings in 2011.

By nightfall, mom reappeared to gather the trio and headed into darkness to find a safe shoreline on which to roost.

Part 2: … they frolicked in the water …

May 25th, 2013     0 comments     permalink

While mom rested beside the dam, the kids explored on their own

The 4-day-old ducklings played by the damMay 20: By the time the ducklings were 4 days old, their mom lost interest in them. They were both active explorers so they had a good time. Often, they were seen right at the edge of the dam where the water tumbles over the rocks. There are some eddies there that swirl morsels they liked to eat.

Park visitors would anxiously watch as they pressed their luck swimming where they could easily be swept away by the rushing water. They’d always propel themselves to calmer water just in the nick of time. I heard a story that one went over the crest and a visitor climbed down the boulders and rescue it. The danger of the falls posed to her newborns didn’t seem to bother the hen. Can you find the chick in the photo at left? Click it to see more detail.

Part 1: First, there were 2 …

May 25th, 2013     0 comments     permalink

At two days old, the tiny ducklings looked at home in the water but a bit bewildered by it all

The Brood3 hen was attentive to the twins and alert to dangerMay 17: The Brood3 hen was an attentive mother. She kept the day-old chicks by her side as they swam around the pond near Main Street. The weather was good, the ducklings seemed content as mom took them to locations where they could find tiny floating bits to eat.

Even young ducklings can take care of themselves if kept warm at night in places where they are protected from predatory fish, mammals and birds. They are always on the move and quick to flee when any danger is perceived. How their little feet can power them across the pond at lightning speed is really amazing. They can’t sustain that speed for long, but they can propel themselves like fuzzy rockets for short distances. The ducklings look color-coordinated with the rippling water

Both of the Brood3 ducklings were very active and curious about everything they encountered in the water. At night, mom tucked them under her wings on the embankment near the dam. A drake hovered nearby and often swam with the family. He might have been the bonded partner of the hen and the father of the ducklings, but he could have developed an interest in the female after she arrived with the kids. Males don’t always stick around while the hens sit on their nests.

Rarely stopping, the tykes rumage for things they can eat Brood3 ducklings searching for food at the pond's edge Brood3 duckling

BTUs leave the pond abruptly

May 25th, 2013     0 comments     permalink

Cold air slams against the warm surface of the millpond creating eerie steam on a frigid night

The Upper Midwesterners are exasperated. We’ve had at least five beginnings of spring where we were sure winter was sent on its way until late autumn. Our hopes have been dashed time and time again. The last kick-in-the-gut was this past Tuesday/Wednesday when temperatures dropped from the 80s into the low 30s here in the burbs. Steam from the warmed millpond rose into the frigid air Wednesday night. Only the diehard park visitors walked the trail much to the consternation of the ducks who missed their daily ration of high carbohydrates tossed to them by the usual crowd.

The lacy blooms of elderberry

May 25th, 2013     0 comments     permalink

Elderberry is in full bloom right now along the Brighton millpond trail

The blooms are composed of white 5-pedaled flowers with yellow centers

Every year I find myself posting pictures of the elderberry blooms. They are 6″ clusters of tiny, lacy flowers with buttery yellow centers forming white umbrellas above rich green leaves. You can’t miss them as you walk along the Brighton millpond trail.

By September, these flowers will each turn into a bb-sized dark purple berry that will be eaten by the birds unless they are nabbed by foodies who forage and (hopefully) know the difference between elderberries and water hemlock, a deadly plant that looks similar.*

Elderberries share the limelight with two other white show-stoppers in bloom now: high bush cranberry (I’ll post photos soon) and a cultivated variety of hydrangea just north of Stillwater Grill.

*Never trust what I write about plants. Water Hemlock (Cowbane) is similar to Elderberry and is deadly poisonous. If you don’t know the difference, you could be dead 15 minutes after ingesting it. My blanket advice: don’t eat anything you find growing at the millpond even if I name it as an edible plant. I might be wrong.

Waterfowl wallflower

May 24th, 2013     0 comments     permalink

Dumpling stands back to assess the situation

Cold, wet weather kept all of the sane visitors out of Brighton’s millpond park on Thursday night so when I arrived, I was warmly greeted. I found a newcomer mingling with the Buda Bunch near city hall.

Probably raised in a backyard, she's interacting with geese for the first timeDumpling has given up her solitary existence near the Stillwater Grill. Thursday was her first night with the Buda Bunch so it’s hard to tell if she’ll find them friends or foes. I saw Buda forcefully offer his amorous services to her but she dodged his advances.

Clearly, she’s an outsider. It’s evident in the top photo where she’s standing back watching the ducks and geese nibble on duck chow I gave them. She was also evaluating the Canada geese. Since she was probably raised in a backyard, there’s a good chance she never saw a goose before being dumped at the pond. In her eyes, they are bigger and stronger than her. She’s not used to their bullying tactics or incessant hissing. She’ll eventually learn to deal with them like the other ducks.

It took several weeks for Mrs PomPom to be accepted into the Buda Bunch after she arrived at the pond in July, 2011. I imagine Dumpling will experience the same treatment. I’d rather see her join the Dam Tribe instead. They need another female since SweetPea is the object of affection for four drakes. That’s more than the old girl can handle.

Nest for Rent: A fixer upper

May 24th, 2013     2 comments     permalink

The Marlboro Mallards nest is now empty

It’s confirmed. The Marlboro Mallard and her newborns have left the nest so I can safely report that the nest was located between the exterior cinderblock wall of Sushi Zen restaurant and the cement tire guards in the parking lot facing the CarQuest store. The nest was in plain sight behind a scrawny weed and riddled with litter of all kinds. How she managed to avoid detection by a predator or vandalism by kids is really amazing. The weather was terrible Thursday evening and I didn’t find her at the millpond. If I can locate her, I’ll report it here.

Moving day for the Marlboro Mallard

May 23rd, 2013     1 comment     permalink

The ducklings have hatched and it's time to take them to the pond

Tiny eyes looked out to see their first humanI’ve been checking on the Marlboro Mallard from time to time because I knew she was close to hatching her clutch of 12 eggs. Yesterday was the big day! When I arrived at the nest, tiny heads were popping out from under mom.

I thought she might lead the brigade out of the nest to the nearest pond shortly after dark, but I returned at 11:00pm and she was still there. Perhaps some ducklings hadn’t broken free of their shells. Moms don’t usually help them. It can take several hours for each chick to break free.

There might be a dozen ducklings. They looked cramped under momI counted eight heads but there are probably more. I couldn’t coax her to stand up and she was nervous at my approach so I didn’t disturb her. I haven’t revealed the precise location but will tell you more about it once I know the family has moved to a new location. I hope they select the millpond so I can watch the tykes grow and count them in the Fertility Tournament, but there are plenty of other ponds nearby mom might feel are safer for her brood.

Brood5 makes new friends

May 22nd, 2013     1 comment     permalink

All 12 ducklings are in this photo but two of them are only slightly visible behind the drake

Pellets for the adults and duck chow dust for the ducklings kept them around for a few minutesWhile showing a charming young couple the Brood6 hen sitting at the edge of the pond last evening, they got quick glimpses of duckling heads and tails poking out beneath her. When we turned around, however, we got a bigger, more delightful surprise. Babs, the Brood5 hen and her two bonded drakes had brought their entire troupe of a dozen 3-day-old ducklings to within a couple of feet of us. Not everyone gets a chance to see young ducklings up close like this, but if you move slowly, some of the hens trust humans enough to let their chicks greet millpond visitors.

The hydrangeas are running late

May 22nd, 2013     1 comment     permalink

The hydrangeas near Stillwater Grill are blooming later this year than they have during the past two springs

A close up of the hydrangea's flower clusterI’ve posted flowers from this same grouping of hydrangea shrubs in past years (see 2010 and 2012). They are impossible to miss if you walk along the millpond trail. They are just north of Stillwater Grill between the trail and parking lot.

The large white bracts around the outside are a visual cue for pollinators to visit the much smaller creamy white flowers in the centers of the flower clusters. The bushes are 6′ tall and at least that large in diameter. The leaves turn a deep red in autumn so these are a terrific cultivated plant for any northern tier garden.

SweetPea’s disappearing eggs

May 22nd, 2013     0 comments     permalink

SweetPea takes a sunset swim with her suitors at the Brighton millpondOn May 18th, I confirmed that SweetPea had 13 eggs in her nest under the canopy of spruce boughs. Last night, while she was taking a break from her nesting duties for a sunset swim with her suitors (left), I had a chance to photograph her nest again. She has removed two of her eggs.

Only 11 eggs remain in SweetPea's nest under the canopy of spruce branchesDucks can tell if their eggs are viable and remove ones that are no longer worth the nesting space. Last summer, a Main Street merchant saw her roll an egg into the middle of an alley and break it open. Presumably, this is done far from the nest so predators won’t follow the scent to the nest to destroy the eggs. Unlike most of SweetPea’s nests, I have some hope for this one. It’s close enough to the pond, partially shielded from park visitors, and close enough to her four admiring drakes that she just might decide to nest for the full 28 days. She’s doing fine so far, but she usually loses interest within 10-14 days and that’s ahead of us. Stay tuned.

Finally sitting pretty

May 22nd, 2013     0 comments     permalink

In early May, two nests appeared near the north end of the pond within four feet of each other (below). A third nest was no more than a dozen feet away (not shown). None of these three nests ever showed evidence of a hen near them. The eggs would be rearranged once in a while and finally, the last nest mentioned had all of its eggs rolled down a slight slope to the water’s edge.

One nest is chock full of eggs, about 11 of them but no hen has claimed them The hen is now sitting on a second nest only four feet away

Finally, after almost three weeks, the nest to the right (above) had its hen identify herself and begin to sit. This is one of Confidia’s ducklings hatched in 2012 so this is her first time to brood. Estimated date for the eggs to hatch is June 17th, but the nest is clearly visible and might be vandalized. Success is not guaranteed.

After weeks of egg laying, a northern pond hen begins to sit

The hen (below left) is a north end devotee. She and her two bonded partners are always there. She’s probably a hybrid Mallard and Buff Orpington and has unusual color markings including a prominent dark eyestripe and a lady-like necklace of white. One of her beaus is a good sized Buff-Mallard hybrid (far right) while the other is a feisty Mallard drake who has lost many of his chest feathers in mating season scuffles with other drakes.

The mystery hen is identified along with her two bonded partners

Dazzle is almost bonded

May 21st, 2013     2 comments     permalink

Dazzle's beloved takes him on a sunset swim

Dazzle sure does. Park visitors ask me: “Where’s the black duck?” and “Where’s the green duck?” I know they are referring to the same one. If they met him in bright sun, he shimmers in iridescent green, but on cloudy days, he’s an inky black but still stands out from the crowd. He was dumped at the pond in January, 2012, and spent last spring mating with every hen he could sweep off her webbed feet at the millpond. Then he flew away. I suspect he was charming hens in other ponds. He returned in autumn.

Blues, greens and a little purple iridescence charms the hens as he struts The Mallard hen spends time admiring Dazzle's gleaming feathers The cute couple strolled through the park together

This year, he’s a little different. He hooks up with hens but not for long. He’s still a cad at heart. For the past few days (at least), he’s been following this attractive hen around. They lounge on the millpond lawn together and go on frequent swimming dates. Will we have some tiny iridescent black ducklings added to the pond this year? Even though he gave it his all last year, none arrived.

New frontrunner in Fertility Tournament!

May 21st, 2013     3 comments     permalink

Mallard hen with ducklings spotted near twilight by park visitors and they pointed them out to me

Mom brought the ducklings up to eat duck chow "dust" Just try and count a hoard of tiny balls of fluff after the sun sets. The grainy picture above of Brood7 confirms this Mallard hen has a troupe of 14, the largest brood so far in this year’s competition. This just might be the Marlboro Mallard. Their faces look similar. The only time I counted her eggs she only had 12 but it might be her. I would have suspected she’d be at the other end of the pond. It’s closer to her nest. When the light is better, I might be able to identify her better.

A close up to see how cute and little the ducklings areI’ve included a detail photo from the one at right so you can see some ducklings up close. They sure are cute. I had read online ducklings can’t eat duck chow for the first couple of weeks. The pieces are too big for them. Joyce and Robert from Wildernest have been saving up the “dust” from their duck chow shipments for three months so I could give it to the little guys. I tried it for the first time with this brood. All they did was sit on it while their mom ate the larger pellets. Another lie on the Internet. Imagine that. Can you find all 14 ducklings in the picture (above right)? They’re all there. It took me a while to spot one of them. Give it a try.

2013 Brood 7

May 21st, 2013     0 comments     permalink

Hen Mallard
Drake(s) Unknown
DOB (estimate) May 20
Pond Location North end of pond near laundromat
1st Meeting Under shoreline willows, near twilight
Duckling Count 14 verified by photo, May 20

Posts including this brood:

05/20/13 :: New frontrunner in Fertility Tournament!

A noisy introduction to Brood6

May 21st, 2013     0 comments     permalink

When I found this hen, she was giving the nearby geese a quack lashing for being so close to her newborn ducklings

She's a pal of mine. She brought her ducklings to me to introduce them. She didn't tell me their names though.When I discovered Brood6 at the north end of the pond last evening, she was giving the Canada geese a quack lashing because they were too close to her newly born ducklings (above). Once she recognized me, she brought the kids to meet me. We’re old friends and she’s ahead of schedule by two days. Last year, she hatched Brood5 on May 22nd. There were ten in that brood but only nine in this year’s.

She discovered her brood liked the duck chow so she consistently brought them right up to my feet so I’d feed them. I’m sure she’ll do that again with this brigade. The grass is covered with willow catkins and the duckling were picking through it. I don’t know if they eat the seeds or are finding things to eat under them. They are too young to swallow duck chow pellets.

She settled down and helped the kids find things to eat in the willow catkin covered lawn

2013 Brood 6

May 21st, 2013     0 comments     permalink

Hen Mallard with bright white eyebrow
Drake(s) Unknown
DOB (estimate) May 20
Pond Location North end near laundromat
1st Meeting North end near boardwalk
Duckling Count 9 verified, May 20

Posts including this brood:

05/20/13 :: A noisy introduction to Brood6

Leave fawns where you find them

May 20th, 2013     0 comments     permalink

A week-old white-tailed fawn watches her world attentively

Two white-tailed fawns rub noses in Livingston County, MichiganEach year, I remind readers to leave newborn fawns where they find them. Michigan white-tailed deer give birth in May and June. Does find places in tall grass or wooded areas where they leave the newborns for up to eight hours at a time. This is done for their protection.

When people find fawns alone, they think their mothers abandoned them. They often “rescue” the fawns which leads to four months of special care with registered wildlife rehabbers. It’s against the law to raise them yourself. Warning: Cow’s milk or baby formula can kill them.

Unless the fawn is sick, injured or the mother is dead, assume it’s fine. Get detailed information about when to intervene at www.FawnCare.com. Share this with Facebook friends and neighbors.

Marlboro Mallard is doing fine

May 20th, 2013     0 comments     permalink

Marlboro Mallard continues to incubate her clutch of 12 eggs

I checked in with Marlboro Mallard who is incubating her eggs in a parking lot far from the Brighton millpond and she’s continuing to sit just like she’s supposed to. Breezes have helped decorate her nest with trash but she doesn’t seem to mind. From the date nesting started estimated by a nearby resident, the ducklings should hatch any day now. Their first major life task will be waddling back to the pond. I’d love to be there when the parade happens.

Dumpling has meandered a little, Rusty tried

May 19th, 2013     0 comments     permalink

Dumpling has moved to a new location but not attempted to interact with other ducks yet

Dumpling is remaining near the Stillwater Grill but was presumably forced to move out of her small territory by the presence of other ducks and geese families. Even though she remains alone, she seems to be managing. I’ve watched her forage along the shore and swim around a little. She’s still roosting on the fallen tree at night. The wound above her left eye (above) is healing well.

Rusty remains a parking lot attendant. I convinced him to follow me with the promise of some extra duck chow at the end of his journey. We almost made it. Along the way, I coaxed him with a few nibbles. When he saw the huge pond before him, the feathers on the top of his head raised and he spun around and waddled back to the parking lot. Silly duck. Eventually, I’ll cajole him into making the transition to a life in the pond where he can seek some company.