Mottled Duck Tales

 

In my post Ducks and More Ducks, a week ago, I told you that 2 Mallards, Mama and Juvenile baby came to stay with us. The came on April 4th and are still here.

April 25th we heard a knock on the glass door and the one I called Mama, now called MR was crying at me. The Baby, or so I thought, had been gone for 2 days and I thought this duck was the Mama looking for the baby.

The Baby showed up that day, see below. Leg lame, part of the foot gone, no tail feathers and in ruff shape. Yes I Cried a little. For days I have watched them, the larger duck, now called MR and the small injured Baby, now called Misses, for Mrs.

They have both come every evening between 5 and 6, and slept in the pool all night, leaving around 8 am for the day.

Mrs is wounded, but she can swim, fly and drags herself one legged on the concrete. We think they have stayed because the wounded one needs easy access to water to escape, when Beau walks by she just falls off the side of the pool into the water.

they are not mallards, but mottled ducks, and the one above is the large male and below is the injured female.

We have been adopted. The male tickles me to death. Every sound or movement, even when the blinds are closed and I pull it aside to watch them, he looks me in the eye. Last night I had the verticals closed and would move from one blind to another to see if he knew, it was almost dark, and he eyed me at every blind.

If you enlarge this photo, you can see her foot and feathers. this was five days ago and she looks better each day.

If she gets to where she can't leave the yard, I will call Wild Life to come get her. She doesn't act like she is suffering or in pain.

Don't worry about them harming the pool, it has been over a year since it has been maintained properly. its full of leaves on the bottom. It got out of control because it needs maintenance daily. I am now working on it myself but don't want to get it because Bob wants to get in it and he can't. I leave it this way so I have a reason to repeat to him 10 times a day why he can't get in the pool.

I am now caregiver for and this includes poop detail 

of an 1, lb 80 lb dog, 1, 140 lb female, 1, 165 lb male human and 2 ducks, 

Female Mottled Duck, the beak tells which they are, and the size.

Male Mottled Duck