Mallard Duckling.

[JohnP]

Here's a couple from my files, I've not felt like going out with the camera what with the weather how it is, I can't wait to see the back of winter.

 

 

[Terry]

Really like how you have caught the fluffiness of the little fella

[JohnP]

I just found another one I like more.

 

[Heather]

these are soooooooooooo cute !!!!

[NannyFerret]

So lovely!
I wonder if the weather will affect the mating and eggs being laid this year, or whether the new born's will arrive at the  normal time.

[JohnP]

So lovely!

I wonder if the weather will affect the mating and eggs being laid this year, or whether the new born's will arrive at the  normal time.

 

Tina... the weather probably won't effect larger birds like ducks too much... smaller birds yes. It's the summer visitors that will suffer the most, birds like Chiffchaffs & Pied Flycatchers & many more besides.... birds that feed on insects and caterpillers will most likely starve in large numbers because everything will be later getting going and won't coincide with the birds breeding time. 

[NannyFerret]

It's a shame that so many suffer through he bad weather. 
I was ou in the garden before breakfast witth seed, meal worms and suet before breakfast this morning as I couldn't bear to eat my breakfast while they were out there cold and hungry.
A pigeon came not long after and sat on the feeding station with his tail feathers in the luke warm water I had put out. I think he was trying to thaw out.
I feed the birds all the year round. except for a couple of weeks later in the year when we are on holiday, and then it's the time of year when there are still berries about, so they don't starve.

[annie]

beautifully captured john...oh bless he looks so sleepy in the first two shots, and his feet are so big...

[NannyFerret]

beautifully captured john...oh bless he looks so sleepy in the first two shots, and his feet are so big...

I didn't notice just how big his feet were. Just had to go back and look again after your comment, Annie.

[KateW]

Absolutely beautiful!

[JohnP]

There are always mixed fortunes where birds are concerned, take last summer for instance. As we all know it was extremely cool and very wet, that was very good for birds such as Blackbirds & Thrushes, they did well because there was a plentiful supply of earthworms and snails etc. It was a very bad time for birds such as the Tit family who need huge numbers of insects and caterplliers etc. Bluetit eggs take about 14 days to hatch. After hatching, the adults will make about 400 daily visits between them for the first few days. This number will rise to 1,000 or more visits per day prior to the young leaving the nest.... these are average figures and can be considerably more when the brood is large. 2010 was an extremely bad winter for Kingfishers, some surveys quote losses of almost 70%, they rely entirely on small fish for food and nothing else and because most water courses were frozen for long periods they just staved.

[NannyFerret]

That's a lot of food needed for the Blue-tits and small birds. I will have to make sure that I have a good supply of meal-worms for them then.

Last year, we had blue-tits coming in a lot and then later they actually brought their young and showed them how to get at the fat balls and other food.

I wish I could have been able to capture some of them on camera, but just to move across the room to go to the kitchen door would have disturbed them from their feeding.
I will have to try and sit in the garden like Annie does. Sometimes I sit just inside the kitchen door with it open, but they don't seem to come then. Sods law. lol