Early most mornings, I head to the butterfly garden. Adjacent to it is a feral female Muscovey Duck sitting in the crotch of a tree. So I also say hello to her. She's sitting on one egg. See?
(If you wonder how I got a photo, I moved the nearby bench next to the tree trunk, stood on it and held my camera high.)
One egg? Hmmm. Most clutches are 8 - 15 eggs. Is this what is called a good egg?!
The mama duck first cleared out the orchid plants we had placed there. (No problem. Pineneedle has placed almost 50 orchids in trees, so a couple for a hoped for duckling seems fair.)
Some days she's as curious about me as I am about her.
Incubation is 30-31 days. This is day 47, at least.
Such a devoted mama. Yet, I'm wondering about what devotion means within a false view. Just like those 20-some eggs dumped by multiple Wood Duck females in a nesting box, it appears this egg is not fertile.
