Hello Mother Duck. This little sweetheart made a nest in our neighbor's yard. The picture isn't so hot as I didn't want to scare her anymore than I probably did.
We've had a pair of ducks in the neighborhood and didn't know where they were nesting. This is a new nest. My suspicions are their first nest was raided by those nasty raccoons as they did last year and that this is a second nest.
My big concern now is that I haven't seen Father Duck around at all. What happens if he isn't around? Can we help feed her or anything? Is it normal to not see him hanging around? They've been walking around the neighborhood together and have been inseparable but before seeing her in this nest this week, we haven't noticed them for a few weeks.
Update: According to Wikipedia, Mallards form pairs only until the female lays eggs, at which time she is left by the male. The clutch is 8–13 eggs, which are incubated for 27–28 days to hatching with 50–60 days to fledging.
Onto happier thoughts. Here are some more pictures from the yard today: clematis, primrose, butterfly bush, yarrow, and bunny-gobbled Asiatic lily.
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