All along the backwater,
Through the rushes tall,
Ducks are a-dabbling
Up tails all.
‘Duck’s Ditty’ by Kenneth Grahame
ANYONE fortunate enough to own a large pond or lake will have considered acquiring some web-footed residents. They fondly imagine the gentle call of female birds, the iridescent sheen of the drakes in winter and the enchanting bustling and waggling as the birds go about their daily business. What they rarely foresee is the time they will spend staring out of the window at the comical love lives of their birds—or how the garden will never be quite the same again.
Ornamental waterfowl can be divided into four groups: the surface feeders or ‘dabbling’ ducks, which feed on or near the surface; ‘diving’ ducks, which obtain most of their food by diving; sea ducks, which include the eider, the UK’s heaviest duck; and sawbills, a group distinguished by the structure of their bills. Of these, surface feeders are generally considered the best
