Well, our little lonely duckling born in the cold month of December is now all grown up into a beautiful female! That means she gets to stay. The Muscovy duck family is now up to three ducks and a drake and they have had full run of the yard since winter. They spend their days eating grass and bugs and rooting through my compost pile. They are very happy birds.

For now my youngest duck is a solid brown, but she will soon moult into her white head and wing patches. Her mother is already well underway on her next nest and has at least a dozen eggs laid already. I’m really hoping for a full, healthy clutch of ducklings this spring. It’s so cute to see them all running and tumbling together after their mom. We’ll know how it goes in about 45 days!