A couple weeks ago, our neighbor noticed a nest with 5 eggs in it tucked behind some plants between our yards. They looked just like chicken eggs and she thought maybe my kids had set it up for some game they were playing. She even cracked one of the eggs to see what might be inside, but it just looked like a regular chicken egg.
After talking it over with Daddy-o, we decided that they must be duck eggs and wondered if we'd seen the mama again. Well, the next day, there were 2 more eggs, and then a couple days later, we noticed a couple more. And for the last 2 weeks, mama duck has been hanging out on the nest most of the time. I see her off early in the morning when I head out to run, but otherwise, she's been sitting in the same spot every day, waiting for her babies.
We're pretty excited to have some ducklings in the yard. Although from the research we've done, it sounds like they probably won't stick around for long, so we'll have to start watching carefully when the time gets closer. With the lack of permanent water, and a street so close by, it's a less than ideal home for ducks. I wonder why she chose this spot in the first place?
I'm curious to know if she'll come back in future years (they often do return to the same nesting site), or if she's going to realize she made a mistake, what with the kids, lawnmowers, and cars driving by all the time. Either way, for now, we're loving our new neighbor!
And while I was out this morning getting a picture of mama duck, I noticed our lawn is full of these tiny mushrooms. They looked so cute tucked in the grass.
Not sure if this is the same thing in a different stage or an entirely different thing growing in the grass, but it was pretty, too.
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