It’s an all too common story: An innocent female trying to live a good life is lured away from her dull nesting duties by a sweet-quacking drake. Before she realizes it, she’s street waddling with drake after drake. Life becomes an endless blur of sex, ducks and rock & roll. Tragic, I say.
After sitting on her four eggs for more than two weeks, this hen began to occasionally leave them unguarded for long stretches. Then they disappeared. Maybe humans took them; maybe raccoons or skunks. Perhaps she realized they were infertile and lost interest. That happens about 30% of the time.
But there’s still time to nest again this summer. Ducks can have 2-3 broods per year. And she’s doing her best to, um, ingratiate herself with the unattached males at the pond. She’s easy for me to track. She’s the only all-white duck with a dark bill at the pond. You can expect reports on her upcoming adventures.
That slut!
[...] But wait! Within the past few days, she’s been conspicuously absent. The group of drakes are still loitering so I think she’s built a nest in some hidden location. Let’s hope her efforts are more productive than her previous ones. [...]