Second brood for Michelle

by SM

Sun, 08 Jul 2007
Popular society duck Michelle has a second brood. So far, five of the chicks have survived to around their second week. Observers have speculated that this bodes well for Michelle's babies, as the mortality rate for ducklings is usually quite high in the first weeks after birth. While the crows are still about, the larger predators such as the seagulls and herons appear to have moved on, which is good news for the chicks and should allow at least some of the chicks to survive into adulthood.

Michelle and the chicks have been quite relaxed over the past week, resting on the grassy sides of the kade and enjoying some summer sun after all the rain. The chicks are already quite friendly and will approach the banks in the hope of some food but are easily startled by sudden movement, causing them to flee to their mother's side. Duncan, though, appears to have done a disappearing act since the birth of the chicks and has been seen only rarely with his family.