Eight Ducks A-Feeding

Wait, it's supposed to be 'eight lords a-leaping,' isn't it? Oh well, I never was good at singing. At any rate, our duck flock is growing by leaps and bounds. We started with three, and we're up to eight.

Here are some recent additions: Corky the Muscovy duck, and Shelby the black-and-white mongrel duck. They're huge, as ducks go.



Our most recent addition is a female white domestic duck. (Apparently all white ducks are domestic ducks.) Even though our ducks flock together, they pair off by type, and poor Gilligan, our big white duck, had no mate. My husband felt sorry for him, and brought Mrs. Howell home. (I wonder if you have to be of a certain age to think the pairing of the names is funny? Are there reruns of Gilligan's Island?)

You can see the two white ducks below, along with our one male mallard and the three female mallards. There were supposed to be two male mallards, but one got eaten by vultures.

Notice anything odd about the duck in the far left of the picture?



It's not a domestic duck. It's a wild red-headed duck that showed up on its own a few days ago. It joins our flock when it feels like it, but spends much of its time on its own also. We're happy to see it; according to our bird book, its numbers are declining due to over-hunting and destruction of its habitats. It's a beautiful bird.



Speaking of over-hunting, a picture of our animals wouldn't be complete without a picture of a small white cat. You can see how terrified the ducks are of her.