Nature is amazing, but there are aspects of it that are difficult, if not impossible, for us to understand.
We have a variety of wildlife here in our yard: Canada geese, raccoons, squirrels, birds, and waterfowl, including mallards. I love the mallards, and you may recall that, in the past, Mama Ducks have brought their ducklings right up to me and into our garage to be fed.
A couple of weeks ago, when I stepped out on our deck, a female mallard came up to me. I stepped back inside the foyer where I keep a container of corn to make feeding them easier. The storm door was slow to close, so Ms. Duck invited herself right inside. I promptly scurried her back out on the deck.
A few days ago, I noticed this (one) egg inside a potted plant on the deck, near the door.
Since that time, I’ve seen several broken eggs around the yard. Yesterday morning, there were two broken ones on the deck, and the one in the flowerpot was no longer there.
In the afternoon, I went out on the deck, and a female duck met me at the door. It was one of those nearly 100 degree days, so I gave her some water and corn. As I was going back inside, she did this:
Poor Mama….she got inside the potted plant. Was it to keep cool? (It was in the shade.) Or was she thinking she still needs to sit on her eggs? Or, as Motor Man suggested, perhaps she’s laying more eggs?
EDITED TO ADD: Mama Duck was in that flowerpot all afternoon, panting. Late in the day, just before sunset, I went out to fill bird baths and water my plants. She wasn’t there, but this was:
So Motor Man was right: she was laying another egg. But, Mama Duck, I think the whole idea is that you SIT on the egg to protect it and for it to incubate.
There’s no way we can protect this egg from predators (raccoons, I’m guessing).
LATEST UPDATE: As I expected, the egg did not survive the night. This was the scene this morning. Mama Duck was standing there looking at this when I opened the door. I’m probably giving her human feelings, but it sounded as though she were whimpering. (But I fed her, and two of her duck friends came to have breakfast with her, so I think she’s already over it.)
Nature…. we just have to take the bad with the good.
~These Days Of Mine~
these days of mine 