Springtime In The Desert
Mallard Ducks At Desert Golf Courses
Every year the spring season is marked by warm weather, wildflowers and fledglings. The air is filled with the scent of flowering fruit trees and other blossoming plants. You hear the birds calling to each other as they build nests, lay eggs and raise their newly hatched young.
There are many ducks that live along the golf courses here in Coachella Valley. My home backs up along a golf course that has many ponds, man-made streams and trees. With two ponds located near my back patio, I often see ducks as they go about their daily activities, searching for food and swimming in the ponds. Just before Easter weekend I spotted a new family of ducklings following behind their mother as they headed to a nearby pond. My neighbors have been buzzing with daily updates about the family of ducks that have made their home behind ours.
Two days ago the duck family was passing by our porch and we decided to throw them some bread that we had been saving for them. It was the first time we fed the ducks. They snapped up the crumbs and headed for the pond. The following day the duck family showed up on our back porch and walked right up to our sliding glass door looking for dinner. It was the same time that we fed them the day before. It was as if we rang the dinner bell and they were gathering for a scheduled feast.
I grabbed my camera and a few slices of bread and headed outside to feed them. They seemed very comfortable around people and willing to let you get pretty close if you had food to give them. It will be interesting to see if they stop by for dinner tonight!
I have a female mallard who has now laid three sets of eggs this spring. She had one set of 13 ducklings in March, another 7 in May and now she is sitting on nine more eggs. She lays them in exactly the same spot in the courtyard of our home in the dessert.
Has she done this because her previous hatchlings did not survive?