Freckled and black-headed ducks say "no" to Autumn!

Sorry for being a busy bee!

We've had a fascinating season in the Duckery this summer, with some exciting species making an appearance.

This lot however simply will not accept that it is autumn! Mrs. Freck is on yet another clutch of eggs! Frecks and black-headed ducks are now forever favourites of mine. Those of you who follow me on twitter may well be fed of them! So here is my attempt to bury the proverbial hatchet with some final photos before we move into autumn.

This glorious female has been one half of an powerhouse of egg production in 2013. Occupying one of our breeding aviaries for 3 years they have settled into a wonderful routine.

The eggs are creamy and round with no obvious arispace end. The pip and rotate confidently with quite brittle shell fragments.

The ducklings are some of the sweetest and softest of all!

Their feeding technique turns them into porridge!

Their habits are the messiest of all!

Their feeding style is the ugliest of all!

But their nests are not necessarily all their own...

The black headed ducks have been really busy this summer! It's a miracle that the Frecks can sit on them all successfully!

And black-headed duck aren't half bad when you capture them in a warm light. This lovely pair exhibit wonderful textural flecks and dappled markings. It's nice to see the male's red flush up close as well.

The black-headed ducklings are like normal ducklings that have been wrung through a mangle!

[caption id="attachment_30663" align="alignnone" width="640"] 2 black-headed or cuckoo ducklings.