Thursday 7 June 2012

IT'S TOUGH BEING A PARENT! (2)






I shot this video on 29 May while walking around Caldecotte Lake in Milton Keynes. I initially started to film a female Mallard and her twelve ducklings (just for the aahhhh factor!) when out of the blue she was set upon by a male Mallard and then, to add insult to injury, by a Coot!  It wasn't until things had quietened  down and I had stopped filming that I heard a 'quack' from up high on the wall and realised what had happened, reviewing the video later just confirmed my theory.


It would appear that the mother had taken her family into the' territory' of another pair of Mallards where the female is sitting on a nest high up on the Ivy clad wall and the male was just protecting his interest!  It can also be seen in the video that the father of the ducklings is a bit bewildered and isn't sure who to protect first, them or the female, in the end he does nothing!!


As to why the Coot joined in I can only assume it was just a Coot being a Coot and not being able to resist joining in on a good fight!!


It all worked out well in the end though....It's tough being a parent!!




8 comments:

grammie g said...

Hi Trevor...Well an arrest for assault in the world of humans would be in order ; }
Poor mommy going through that with the children witnessing all the commotion!! I
t isn't always as pretty and calm as it looks living the life of nature!!
Insightful!!
Love the Mallards chose of nesting though!!
Grace

The Herald said...

Hi Grace, it sure can be harsh out there at times! And we humans think we get a bum deal!!...lol...[;o)

holdingmoments said...

Amazing video Trevor; nature in its toughest.

The Herald said...

Thanks Keith and welcome home!...[;o)

Bob Bushell said...

All comes to those..................nice video.

The Herald said...

Cheers Bob...[;o)

Roy said...

I rather thought the Coot was having a go at the male mallard Trevor, but then it was definitely a coot being a coot when it attacked one of the ducklings.

The Herald said...

You can always bank on a Coot being up for a good scrap Roy..lol...[;o)