Notes from a Lake: Plucky, part 2

Anke Marsh

— 4 min read
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A photograph of a Mandarin Duck duckling. He is sleeping on the bank of the lake, head and beak tucked into his chest, one leg pulled up.
Plucky napping (copyright: Anke Marsh)

I went to the lake this morning, with trepidation. I wanted to see how wee Plucky was doing but was also afraid to find out. The odds were stacked against him, on his own and injured.

When I got to the lake, it was busy, busy, busy. Babies and parents everywhere! Bird babies and parents, that is. Mama Coot was out with her now seven babies (there were eight – lake life is treacherous). Mama and Papa Little Grebe were out, all three babies accounted for. Mama Mallard 1 was also out with her ten kiddos, Mama Mallard II was out with her two teenaged kids. Yes, I know, I should really name the mamas.

Three, then two, pairs of Tufted ducks, several Moorhens and a few Mallard drakes were also on the pond. A couple of Canada geese flew over, then seemed to change their minds and flew away again. Too noisy for them, I guess. The swallows came a bit later, dive-bombing the various waterfowl, who ignored the pesky land birds.

A photograph showing a swallow diving into the lake, splashing water everywhere. Two fuzzy ducklings are nearby and seem totally unconcerned. The birds are all small against a vast lake of green lake water. The lake is green as it is reflecting the vegetation around it.
Photo taken yesterday of a swallow diving into the lake near ducklings (copyright: Anke Marsh)

But I couldn’t see Plucky anywhere. I went to ‘his’ bank. Nothing. Went to the other bank where I’d also seen him before. Nothing. I sat on the bench and watched the birds and the dragonflies. I sat on another bench. Watched and waited. Watched the Coots chase the Tufted Ducks away. Watched the Little Grebes chase the Tufteds away. The Tufteds were not having a good lake day.

People came, people went, and I waited. I silently cursed a dog owner* who started to throw a stick into the water for his dog. On Plucky’s bank!

The man with the dog finally left. I wandered around the lake, looking, but still so sign. I decided to do one last check of the two areas I had seen him and then wander home. I went to the far bank, watched the dragonflies (Black-tailed Skimmers and Emperors) flit around, and I watched the Moorhens make another nest in the fallen Alder – guess the first one wasn’t all that.

Then I heard a small plop, a gentle splash. I saw a small duckling paddling fast towards where I was. It was Plucky! I was so happy. He paddled around, grabbing at little flying insects, gobbling to his heart’s content. His wound didn’t look as red or painful. He seemed happy, carefree, like a little duckling should be. He disappeared down the small brook at the back of the lake. I waited, hoping he’d come back this way before I needed to leave.

A photograph of a small brown and yellow duckling. He is walking towards the camera on a dry brown ground.
Photograph of Plucky taken today, with an iPhone. The gash, not visible here, looks better today (copyright: Anke Marsh)

Instead, he popped up behind where I was sitting on the bank. He walked, well waddled with those big feet, stopping here and there to eat vegetation and god knows what else off the ground. He waddled past me, plopped back into the water, then jumped back onto the bank, on the other side of me and ate some more.

This little guy was moving so fast, eating so much. I sat and watched him gorge on everything. Finally he went back into the water and swam off under the fallen Alder and into the wooded wetlands behind the lake.

I left the lake, relieved and happy that he had survived another day and seemed to be doing so well.

My friend Barbara went to the lake later on. Plucky was out and about again, waddling along the bank, in and out of the vegetation, happily eating his way around.

This photograph shows a male Mandaring duck's head and shoulders. He is posed sideways, looking towards the camera with one eye. He looks a bit surprised to be honest. Hes got a white face with a green stripe at the top, orange that runs down from his cheeks and neck. His chest is burgandy coloured. In front of him is blurred brown, with blurred vegetation in the background.
A photograph of a male Mandarin duck (copyright: Barbara Kay)
A female Mandarin duck is walking through some vegetation on the side of the lake. She has a brown head with white eyeliner, brown wings, some mottling on her chest and sides and a cream coloured abdomen.
A female Mandarin duck walking through vegetation (copyright: Barbara Kay)

She also spotted a pair of Mandarin ducks. No chicks with them so we knew these weren’t the parents of the six chicks. Could these be the missing parents? Where have they been? Alas, when I compared Barbara’s photos with my photos of Plucky’s parents, I could see they weren’t the same pair. It seems we now have three pairs of Mandarin ducks, or two. Plucky’s parents are still AWOL after all.

Meantime, Plucky really is living up to his name. The odds are stacked against him, a lone, wounded duckling in the dangerous lake world. But if anyone can overcome those odds, it will be Plucky!

* Most dog owners are very responsible and keep their dogs under control. Some have less control and let the dogs swim in the lake when there are birds nesting/young birds. We have tried to talk to these particular people but often get abuse.

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