Now that the tide has decided to stay within its normal boundaries and not wander around while high, Lake Little has also resumed it’s usual winter size. Granted, it fluctuates with the amount of rain we must all endure, but it seems to call out to the waterfowl, “Come on in! It’s a good day for ducks.” And come they do.
I wish my duck I.D.-ing skills were better. All I can say about who is visiting right now is that there seem to be quite a variety and they are LOUD! Loud and busy. I imagine they are talking to one another, mostly, but I’ve noticed these last few mornings that our chickens seem to be trying to get into the conversation.
Truly! Amidst their usual clucking and squawking, I’m hearing the chickens chatter with sounds suspiciously like quacking. Plus they seem to wait for responses from the gaggle on the lake. I’m thinking that now that they’ve mastered a little human speak (they have been quite receptive to my constant demands for “Egg! Egg!”) they are branching out.
I should point out that the above reference should read “raft on the lake” rather than “gaggle on the lake.” Geese gather in gaggles and I have not yet seen any geese on Lake Little this year. Ducks gather in rafts, apparently, but when talking about how noisy they are, “gaggle” seems louder than “raft.” Maybe I should just referto them as a “gabble on the lake”…
But I digress. I just wanted to let everyone know that the girls in the coop seem to be in favor of virtual learning. At least, I’ve never seen them actually approach the pond for up close instruction in duck dialects. Nevertheless, I think they are getting the hang of it. You never can tell with chickens…