Birds Rhoda Mallardstern

Yeats

All-Pro
Location
New Jersey, USA
Name
Chris
About two weeks back I met a lovely duck in a small pond. She was paddling around in a seemingly aimless fashion, which troubled me. After taking some pics, I went home and returned with some mulitgrain bread which, after I tossed it in the water, she devoured. The next day I brought celery, which she ignored. A little Internet research informed me that her behavior was consistent with having her clutch nearby, which reassured be that nothing was amiss. I've popped in on her a couple times since then, and all seems well. I've named her Rhoda Mallardstern. I think she's beautiful.

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mallard duck DSCF1539 by Yeatsy, on Flickr

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mallard duck DSCF1257 by Yeatsy, on Flickr

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mallard duck DSCF1273 by Yeatsy, on Flickr

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mallard duck DSCF1217 by Yeatsy, on Flickr

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mallard duck DSCF1265 by Yeatsy, on Flickr

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mallard duck DSCF1243 by Yeatsy, on Flickr
 
Lovely photos and little story. Rhoda Mallardstern is lovely... please go back and see her soon and show us her brood, they will probably be on the water soon.
 
The young leave the nest some 14-21 HOURS after hatching and would then be accompanied by the female who offers protection to them, so if you are seeing this female for significant periods of time, say in excess of 10-20 minutes, well, there's no easy way to put this, but she doesn't have a brood. The female obviously comes off the nest for short periods of time during the 27-28 day incubation time, but prolonged sightings would suggest she wasn't nesting, or has lost her clutch. If I've been overly pessimistic then you'll doubtless post photographs in due course showing a proud mother and her family.

Barrie
 
My dove sits on her twins almost constantly. She waits until I appear in the room [she has no mate, ergo...] and then she rises, goes to her cage [she's nested on a table among some knick-knacks right now], eats and drinks and then she returns. If she sees me leave the room she will return to her nest if she's not already in it. It is good to let her do this because it will reduce the number of times she lays eggs during egg-laying season given they aren't fertilized. In the wild when there is both a male and female they take turns sitting on the nest and eating and the same occurs when the eggs have hatched. They are doting parents.

I read on Mallards and the male will remain to guard the nest while the female lays the eggs and then once she is done he heads off. Maybe even to another female. The female nests and when the babies hatch she works on getting them to water teaching them how to be ducks and all. So if you see a female she probably won't be far from her nest but she will climb off of it to eat. I think Barrie is right, she might not have a mate/clutch yet but if you keep watching then you might witness that whole process unfold if she finds one. Either way if there are a lot of ducks around you are sure to see some babies soon. :)
 
Nice set of pic's. I'm particularly taken with the fourth one. I like how it shows the effectiveness of color as camouflage and the camouflage failure due to selective focus.
 
My dove sits on her twins almost constantly. She waits until I appear in the room [she has no mate, ergo...] and then she rises, goes to her cage [she's nested on a table among some knick-knacks right now], eats and drinks and then she returns. If she sees me leave the room she will return to her nest if she's not already in it. It is good to let her do this because it will reduce the number of times she lays eggs during egg-laying season given they aren't fertilized. In the wild when there is both a male and female they take turns sitting on the nest and eating and the same occurs when the eggs have hatched. They are doting parents.

I read on Mallards and the male will remain to guard the nest while the female lays the eggs and then once she is done he heads off. Maybe even to another female. The female nests and when the babies hatch she works on getting them to water teaching them how to be ducks and all. So if you see a female she probably won't be far from her nest but she will climb off of it to eat. I think Barrie is right, she might not have a mate/clutch yet but if you keep watching then you might witness that whole process unfold if she finds one. Either way if there are a lot of ducks around you are sure to see some babies soon. :)

I have a Hummingbird's nest, literally a foot from the patio window. Last year, we watched the nest under construction, we saw the mother actually lay her eggs, feed her babies until they flew off. This year a Hummer repaired the nest and two broods were hatched, the second right after the first. It was like watching The Discovery Channel right outside our window. Interestingly, about a week after the babies left the nest, there were two hummers on a rose bush. Mary Lou thought they were the 'babies', then one opened it's beak wide, saying "feed me" in bird talk and the other Hummer actually feed the baby. I don't know if this, after nesting care is typical of Hummers and/or all birds or if the phenomenon was an anomaly.

Gary
 
The young leave the nest some 14-21 HOURS after hatching and would then be accompanied by the female who offers protection to them, so if you are seeing this female for significant periods of time, say in excess of 10-20 minutes, well, there's no easy way to put this, but she doesn't have a brood. The female obviously comes off the nest for short periods of time during the 27-28 day incubation time, but prolonged sightings would suggest she wasn't nesting, or has lost her clutch. If I've been overly pessimistic then you'll doubtless post photographs in due course showing a proud mother and her family.

Barrie

I haven't observed her for long periods of time - 20 minutes at most - so it's hard to say, however I have seen her settle in in the brush behind her shown in pic #4.

I read on Mallards and the male will remain to guard the nest while the female lays the eggs and then once she is done he heads off. Maybe even to another female. The female nests and when the babies hatch she works on getting them to water teaching them how to be ducks and all. So if you see a female she probably won't be far from her nest but she will climb off of it to eat. I think Barrie is right, she might not have a mate/clutch yet but if you keep watching then you might witness that whole process unfold if she finds one. Either way if there are a lot of ducks around you are sure to see some babies soon. :)

Yeah, I was wondering where her mate was, until I read that a drake can impregnate more than one female during mating season.... so, I dunno! :confused:

Swans are easier to keep track of, that's for sure.
 
I have a Hummingbird's nest, literally a foot from the patio window. Last year, we watched the nest under construction, we saw the mother actually lay her eggs, feed her babies until they flew off. This year a Hummer repaired the nest and two broods were hatched, the second right after the first. It was like watching The Discovery Channel right outside our window. Interestingly, about a week after the babies left the nest, there were two hummers on a rose bush. Mary Lou thought they were the 'babies', then one opened it's beak wide, saying "feed me" in bird talk and the other Hummer actually feed the baby. I don't know if this, after nesting care is typical of Hummers and/or all birds or if the phenomenon was an anomaly.

Gary

Adult birds will feed each other as a sign of affection as well as feed babys, many times the male bird taking on the same role as the female to insure their offspring. I've seen adult cardinals in the feeder giving each other seed, it looks like they are kissing :) Those hummingbird babies had to be sooooo tiny.
 
Adult birds will feed each other as a sign of affection as well as feed babys, many times the male bird taking on the same role as the female to insure their offspring. I've seen adult cardinals in the feeder giving each other seed, it looks like they are kissing :) Those hummingbird babies had to be sooooo tiny.

It makes a great deal of sense for a male to supplement the females diet by offering her extra food at the time of egg laying since it is a very energy intensive process.

Barrie
 
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