This winter, we lost Doodle Duck to a predator. One moment, she was in the yard, and shortly after, when Hannah went to tuck her in for the night, a horribly frigid night, and she was gone. After an exhaustive search, we had to admit defeat. This is the last picture we have of our sweet duck, who was a constant companion in our yard. Needless to say, it’s been a quiet spring without ducks in residents, the first time in 14 years. I miss Doodle’s quacking, her noodling about the yard in search of slugs. Her first splash of the morning in the pond. Even her complaining if dinner was a little late. The quiet is a new normal.
As I let the pups outside this morning, I heard an achingly familiar quack. In my jammies, I hustled out into the yard. Could it be Doodle after all these months? Logic told me no, but a moment of hope lingered in my heart.
Spotting ripples on the pond water, I moved closer and spotted a female duck! Stunned, I paused for a moment before rushing back to the house to grab my camera.
When I returned, her partner glided into view with a gentle, soft quack—mallards were visiting our humble little pond! I quickly dashed back to the house and woke Hannah from a deep sleep. Together, we watched the ducks from a distance, but I guess our presence was too much attention for them, and they flew off. A magical morning.
Our journey with ducks began in 2011 when we adopted four Pekin ducklings through mail order—Pekins because Paul had grown up with them. Dilly, Hera, Quackers, and Oscar joined our family.
We thought it would be a fun learning experience for Hannah to have the opportunity to raise and care for ducks now that we live in the country.
We had a great time with them, so we decided to experiment with incubating some duck eggs. We successfully hatched two ducklings, doing a better job of brooding than our adult ducks did. Although the ducks tried to care for their eggs, they didn’t understand the importance of sticking to their nest. This is how Peep and Squeak came into our lives.
That brought us to six Pekins. Yes, sometimes my ducks are in a row.
Over the years, the ducks have transformed the landscape. They inspired the creation of new shelters and, most importantly, a duck pond. Paul cleared an area in front of the house and excavated it to create a small pond that has now become a focal point in the yard.
Oh, the joy this pond has brought to our home! Evenings spent sitting in a chair, watching the ducks glide along. The soothing sounds of the peepers and frogs fill the air. We’ve even had unexpected visits from great blue herons and egrets.
Sitting on the porch, watching them noodle about the yard, and hearing their quacks was truly special.
By 2018, we found ourselves with one lonely Pekin–Squeak. Hannah, now in college, desperately wanted to expand our duck family, so we adopted three Swedish Blues: Puddles, Murphy, and Doodle.
Eventually, nature and time took their toll. Some of our ducks passed away due to old age, while raccoons and bobcats posed challenges for the others.
Seeing this pair of Mallards this morning reminded me of the joy that ducks bring to our everyday routine. Although now isn’t the right time to adopt more ducks, I am hopeful that other wild, wandering ducks will use our pond as a pit stop along their journey.
