My dog Baxter (a Chihuahua/Corgi mix) and I had just about finished our daily Morning Walk, and were heading home. Just as we reached a point a couple of houses from home, we passed a raised garden that someone has on the pavement and suddenly, there was a fluttering. At first, but we had surprised a squirrel, since that has happened before on that very spot.
But then I realized that what we were looking at was a female mallard duck. She started dragging one wing and limping, and I thought, "Oh no, an injured bird!"
That was when I noticed, belatedly, five or six fuzzy ducklings peeping away. (It occurred to me afterward that many mama birds will feign injury to lead predators away from their chicks.)
This is surprising, because while we are less than a mile away from some man-made lakes, mama and babies will have to traverse multiple blocks of city traffic in order to get there. I have no clue where that nest was, but this is not the place where I would have expected to see one.
Baxter, meanwhile, was hauling at the leash, but I wouldn't let him anywhere near the ducks. I actually think he wanted to herd them, being part Corgi, but I wasn't taking any chances.
At this point, another lady also appeared on the scene, and when the duck family started to cross the street, she accompanied them in order to control traffic. I told her that I would have liked to help with traffic control, but I didn't want the dog near the birds.
So, that was my adventure for the morning so far. The duck family got safely across the street, and were heading in the direction of those man-made lakes. I hope they get there safely.
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