Make way for ducklings!!

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It's not everyday your flower bed becomes nesting grounds for a mallard duck...

A few days ago, Toby and I found what we thought to be an egg on the side of the house. And, sure enough, it was. After some research, we figured it to be a mallard egg.

Mallards lay one egg each day until they have layed them all (around 10, usually), and then they return to the nest to sit for 26-30 days.

The next day, we went back out to see if there was another egg-- she could have layed that first one days ago and abandoned the nest, and we could have just missed seeing.

But, just as it should be, there was a second egg in the nest! (It's buried in the mulch and you can't see it in this photo, but you can really see that it is indeed RIGHT NEXT to our house!)


This morning when I woke up, I snuck outside crossing my fingers to see if egg number three would be there. And what to my wondering eyes should appear? MAMA DUCK!! Look at that brilliant camoflauge!

Stay tuned for more pictures and stories...

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