Water Garden Visitors: The Mallards are Back

Katie (L) and Toughie (R) monitoring the ducks.

Earlier this month I awoke to raucous barking.  Steve had gotten up earlier than me and let the dogs out and now they were clearly unhappy.  I did a double take when I saw the reason why:  a male and female mallard were swimming in the water garden!

Last spring, they swam in our swimming pool, which kept the dogs running laps around it as they followed them from one end to the other.  The swimming pool is still covered, however, so they chose the next best thing.

Katie and Toughie watched the ducks intently, barking when they swam too close to the fish.  They did not understand that the ducks pose no threat to the fish.

Welcome back, ducks!  But I hope they don't spend a lot of time on our property.  Unfortunately, ducks defecating in the water have been known to be a source of high concentrations of e.coli that has shut down swimming areas in local ponds.  We don't want any bacterial issues in our pond or pool.

The ducks swim contentedly, ignoring the dogs.

I got too close with the camera and they took off.... 

... gracefully flying away.

We don't know for certain that these are the same ducks that visited last year but they are not at all shy around the dogs, barking or not.  They've been back twice to briefly swim laps in the pond.  Mostly we see them flying over the meadow and we can hear them honking.  We think they built their nest and reared their brood in the meadow last year, and suspect they are doing the same this spring as well.

Garden Visitors: The Mallards Return

Standing on the edge of the pool, he executes a perfect arabesque.

It's been a week since the mallards dropped in for their first daily visit. (Read about their first visit HERE.) Every day this week, the drake has dropped in, sometimes with his mate, other times alone. He has turned a deaf ear to the dogs and alternates between showing off and ignoring us. Sadly (for him, at least), the pool he has been swimming in is scheduled for renovation and if the weather forecast holds, construction can begin as early as the end of this week. In the meantime, we are enjoying his antics as he preens, swims, and calls to his mate.

Preening for the camera

This morning we could hear her answering his calls from the wetland area and guess that she might be nesting.

Calling to his mate, who called back to him from the conservation area.

 

Something delicious in the water.

More preening for the camera

Garden Visitors: Mallard Ducks

For the third day in a row this week, a mallard duck has dropped by for a visit. We've been alerted to his presence by our Cavalier King Charles Spaniels who raced around the pool barking their displeasure while he swam a few laps.  This morning he arrived again, right on schedule, this time with his mate. As soon as the dogs announced their presence, I was outside, armed with my camera. What gorgeous creatures!

Katie set off the alarm and the other dogs quickly followed her.

Emily and Tough Nut barked the loudest and the longest, annoyed, I'm sure, that the ducks simply ignored them.

After a leisurely swim, they took flight.

And headed off over the garden.

A much needed refurbishment to our pool has been delayed by weather but I'm surprised they didn't land in the the water garden which is barely ten feet away. I recall a similar visit last spring and can only wonder if it's the same pair of ducks, passing through on their migratory return trip home. Flocks of mallards are referred to as sords and several sords have flown noisily past overhead in the past couple of weeks.

Update: It is now Day 5 and the mallard pair continues to visit daily. Today we were able to get some additional photographs showing the gorgeous blue markings on the female's wings. The trotted about the patio, took a quick dip in the pool, and then flew off again.