Lots of butterflies

The sunshine has brought the butterflies out - orange tips, brimstones, speckled woods, small tortoiseshells and peacocks (pictured). Also some unidentified whites.

First grass snake photo - just about

I was out checking the ducklings camera in hand when a grass snake rushed across the moat with it's head out of the water followed by a moorhen. I am not sure whether the bird was chasing the snake or they were both just trying to get away from my presence. I took an instant photo but it was a long lens and it didn't focus in time so its pretty much the worst photo of a grass snake ever unless you are happy with impressionist-style wildlife photos....

The snake is in the centre of the picture about two thirds up from the bottom - honest

First ducklings of the season

After last week's destruction it is great to see twelve brand new mallard ducklings out on the water for the first time yesterday. The mother is quite relaxed except when seeing off drakes that she doesn't want near the brood. Two drakes did get into some argy bargy as if in a paternity dispute but a small physical confrontation sorted the matter. I love the way ducklings seem to eat anything and everything they can see even stretching up to pick flies out of the air.

Fox getting bolder?

I went out this morning to find fox droppings right outside the back door. This must be a territorial marker and I am not quite sure how to challenge back in a hygenic way................

Mystery resolved - unfortunately

The question of what destroyed the duck eggs is resolved as I found the corpse of a female mallard. It was definitely the work of a fox. I was misled by the appearance of just a few feathers at the scene of the eggshells and by the continued presence of the pair of mallards on the moat. Of course I now realise that the dead duck was sitting on her eggs and was in fact a second pair of mallards aiming to raise a brood on the moat this year.
Red in tooth and claw........

Duck egg mystery

I found six broken mallard eggs on the lawn and a few feathers around a couple of the broken eggs. I am a bit clueless as to the culprit. The duck and drake seem perfectly OK - they are not behaving any differently. I guess a fox would be a possibility but it would be surprising if a confrontation between a fox and a duck would leave just a few feathers. I suppose the local crows could have done it -assuming they can fit duck eggs in their beaks. Maybe rats could be the perps. I assume it would not be part of the love triangle currently playing out on the moat with a jealous drake responsible? It seems far fetched but I can't rule it out until someone who has some expertise in this area can enlighten me.

Diving mallard

There is just one female on site so far this breeding season (pictured). As discussed in previous blog entries she has been the subject of heavy competition between two drakes although that particular situation seems to have calmed down over the last week or so. However she has a peculiarity that I have not previously observed with adults mallards - she spends a lot of time diving for food. All mallards dabble - that's when they stick their heads under the water and use their feet to keep themselves facing vertically down. Also the ducklings go through an entertaining phase when they dive under water and then bob up like corks. However she has been regularly diving for food whilst her accompanying drake continues to dabble. It seems that this behaviour is seldom seen with mallards. My theory is that she was brought up on the moat ( I have always assumed that the ducks that breed here are from the ones previously raised here) and learned the behaviour from the Tufted ducks that were here last year which are proper diving ducks.