Thursday 16 March 2017

Busy Ducks...

The good news is my trip to Bath is booked, so I'm hoping the weather will be dry even if it's not warm when I eventually go.

The first batch of manuscripts (for the writers' club's national competition) are on my desk waiting for me to start reading and giving a few lines of feedback on each one.

And my diary for the next few months is filling up quickly, so I'm glad I got my weekend away booked before these other appointments came in.

The other good news- well it is to me- is that I have a small payment from ALCS this year, so that will be saved up toward funding a future research trip to who-knows-where...

Passing visitors...
It's also getting time to tidy up the garden, now that the buds are opening on the trees and bushes; and the small birds are becoming regular visitors.

So it was quite unexpected last week when a pair of Ducks flew into the garden for a quick snack and wander round.

Of course they chose the least photogenic area of the garden to land on...

The female did the sensible thing and pecked up any bird seed that she could find, while the male Mallard went for a short stroll.

Obviously the garden didn't meet his requirements and he flew off, quickly followed by the female- they synchronised flying too.

This pair make regular appearances around the area: from walking across the road, to settling down for a rest on the front lawn of someone's house.

They're not that far from a number of ponds and water channels so they can easily fly from place to place.

Waiting for the other half...
They're obviously an adventurous pair that like to get away from the crowds...


















7 comments:

liz young said...

You were lucky to be there to see them! One of my best ever photos of my first child toddling was spoiled by a glimpse of a pile of washing through an open door - always check the background, as Mr Drake obviously failed to do :(

Helen Laycock said...

Oh, how lovely! A peacock landed in my garden once and gave me the fright of my life...

Helen

Patsy said...

The only waterbirds we get are gulls!

Carolb said...

Lizy- My husband saw them first, so I had to take the picture through the glass window with the camera's zoom. If I'd opened the door they would have been off. :-)

Helen- Thanks. Peacocks can be quite big and would give anyone a fright landing in their garden suddenly, but they are impressive when they display their fan. :-)

Patsy- that is the problem with being near sea, and they can be so aggressive. It's the Pigeons that are most annoying around here. :(

Wendy's Writing said...

I've just booked a trip to Bath too - with my daughter (not until June though)

Rosemary Gemmell said...

It's good to have something to look forward to, Carol - and spring has officially arrived!

Carolb said...

Wendy- by June the weather will hopefully be warmer. It's lovely when it's warm and the sun is shining- probably reflects the light off the Bath stonework.Hope you enjoy your visit. :-)

Rosemary- I thought spring had arrived too, but we've had some very wet and windy weather this week.:(