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Penny and Duke were forced to get the heads down today as unseasonal weather hit the riverside.
Strong winds from the north brought an icy blast and hailstones from the Arctic, and the forecast is for more tomorrow. As I have previously mentioned, survival of newly hatched ducklings depends very much on the weather and food supply, Today I spotted a newly hatched brood of 11 very tiny ducklings, hoping they survive this wintry spell.
As I feared, winter hitting us now just as the first ducklings are due to hatch. Today was horrendous with an Icy Arctic blast blowing from the North straight up the riverside, sleet that was horizontal and wind chill that numbed the hands in minutes !
Watching Penny on the nest with no cover from the gale force winds and sleet, I marvelled at her ability to keep the clutch warm in such atrocious conditions. Having not seen her off the nest or eat for 4 days, I ventured over and gave her a sodden wholemeal roll, broken up into small enough pieces to eat on the nest.
This I rarely do and only in exceptional circumstances - today was one of those times. Within minutes my hands were frozen and I struggled to get my gloves back on. Getting the occasional snow shower in April is not unusual, but the gale force wind straight from the north pole was something else, it was bitter !! Could not get photo since hands were too numb to get the camera out of case, but similar to conditions in old photo above but with a stronger wind !
Horrendous weather conditions persist from the Arctic, feels more like January than end of April !
Being mindful of the exposed position of Popeye and Penny's nest, with no protection from the bitter northerly winds I did what I rarely do - except in extreme conditions. With close to freezing temperatures at night and only a few degrees during the day, I know that Penny will not leave the nest at this stage of incubation.
Reluctantly today I hand fed her while on the nest for which she was truly grateful, Popeye is very protective and although I have cared for them for nearly 10 years, he still puts himself in harms way by guarding both Penny and the nest as closely as you could imagine. It is only the trust that has built up over the years that allows me the privilege to do this on rare occasions.
Similar ducks allow me to get that close during nesting time when food is vital to egg production.
