Mallard Inspection

Last week we underwent a mallard inspection. That is, a pair of mallard ducks were checking out potential nesting sites in our back yard. One day Joan spotted the female sitting on the deck railing for at least fifteen minutes. Two days later, to our surprise, we saw her perched atop the shrubbery next to our deck. Mallards are usually ground nesters.

She wasn't swallowed by the yew because it's draped in black-colored deer netting, which helps protect the bush from the ravages of deer chomping, especially in winter. Click on this closeup and perhaps you can make it out.

Such an inspection is a serious, time-consuming business. This female mallard stared forward, stared towards me,

and then flew down and waddled to the bottom of the yew. She gazed up into the interior for minutes at a time, as if trying to visualize how her nest might appear from a ground-based predator's point of view.

The drake stood a few feet away, patiently waiting. Clearly the choice of nesting site was her decision, not his.

We had a second visit from this pair the next day, so we made the semi-finals, but we haven't seen them since.

Mama Cardinal

A pair of cardinals has established a nest in, off all places, the honeysuckle on the stairs leading up to the deck. We told them that we would minimize our traffic up and down those stairs, but couldn't eliminate it entirely. We hope they understand. At least they are on the outer, not inner, side of the railing.

Mama cardinal is very well camouflaged amongst the vines, except for her bright red beak.

She's been sitting faithfully on the nest for several days. During mama's occasional trip to the birdbath, just a few feet away, Joan checks out the nest. As far as she can see, there are only two eggs. Three to four is more typical; possibly it's a young pair.

In case you're wondering, we've had occasional owl sightings (aural and visual), but the adults are still tending to the eggs/chicks and there have been no photo ops yet.