Duck love! Well, kind of. Actually, it's duck sex. Based upon my observation and readings, ducks are not like other birds or even other waterfowl. Once the mating feathers arrive, ducks have sex. All the time. Sure, when the spring comes, they pair up and mate often, but they also mate in the fall. Often. Usually they are paired and the mating occurs between couples. Bachelors attract the free femals with a grooming dance. They push their chests out and flap their wings slightly. This is supposed to be duck sexy to females. The duck couples I know stay together for life. But? The female sometimes strays. This may be to assure she has good sperm saved. The female duck stores the sperm. She mates during the spring, but also has reserves. Or some females have reserves. OK, so what I caught on tape today is unusual. Unusual, only because I haven't seen it often. I'm sure there are other people out there who would tell me that this may be what they've witnessed, so they would disagree and suggest that this is not unusual. That's fine, but it's my blog, so I get to say unusual. This drake is gorgeous. I've noticed him strutting around. Perfect coloring. Beautiful head. Perfect. Well, it's obvious I'm not the only one who feels this way. So, today he swims into my pond with two hens chasing him. They were not simply following him to eat. No, no. These hens know a good thing when they see one. Below are the females chasing the male. And lucky me, one female won and the male and her decided to give me a show. And that is the next video. How was the female chosen? I have no idea. After swimming after the cute drake, one female simply swam away. I didn't hear anything, no quacking. There was no pecking. Nothing. One simply gave up the chase, leaving the other with the sexy drake. Then they mated, and I was able to capture it on video. Listen to the other hen screeching after they mate. Jealous! So, you're welcome.
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Fall in Connecticut is gorgeous. The first picture is the road to my house, second Selleck's woods. This is why autumnal landscape is described as as fiery. The reds, yellow, oranges scream at you before they fall to the ground. I put the third picture of end of summer roosting egrets up to display the difference. The next picture is a raptor specialist who made a presentation at an event in our town That's a spectacled owl. He at first told everyone he was going to present an eagle owl. I am not sure he corrected it, but when he pulled it out, it was obviously a spectacled owl. Just amazing looking bird who obviously saw me taking his picture and posed. And last picture. Fall is a great hiking time of year but sometimes we simply want to read. My bulldog was very sick and recovered! She was so glad she had a book to read during recovery. Remember, there are books to read even if you're not sick! Dead Fish for example. Tap on the bulldog reading my book to go to amazon and order one for yourself. |
AuthorI like to write about people, animals, dogs. I enjoy ideas, good books about ideas, funny books about ideas, funny people who have ideas, advocates for people who don't have voices to express their ideas, and animals who have ideas we can't understand. Archives
November 2021
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