No sign of ducklings

An old male Mandarin duck that hangs around on his own. He walks with a limp which makes it easy to identify him

The coots' nest is now occupied and contains rather too much greenery from my pond plants for my liking! I noticed this afternoon that the beautiful lily had three more leaves stripped away. It has only four leaves left so I may have to remove it and place it in a 'nursery' pond for a while!

Yesterday evening a lone duckling appeared and hung around the feeding area for a while until it was scared off. There was no sign of a mother though I hoped one might turn up. A little later the duckling reappeared and again swam off. I've seen no ducklings today. I think it may have been one of Beaky's, and we think that they've all been taken now. A duck resembling her came to the pond today and allowed me to stand next to her. She later flew up to the garden deck and settled close to the nesting duck, Lonely, as if to keep her company, before tucking her beak under her wing and having a kip.

Beaky enjoying the pond

A friend on the island called this afternoon to say she had twelve ducklings and no sign of a mother. We discussed the options and she promised to call back if she saw the mother and ducklings reunited. Four hours have elapsed and I've heard nothing but it's possible that the ducklings moved on and the mother rejoined them somewhere else. We both agreed that it's a magical time of year but it has its moments.

It's time to sign off . . . until tomorrow.