:(
We went out today to see how our cute little Muscovy ducklings were progressing. I hadn't seen them since I took the above photograph earlier in the week. They'd already gotten quite a bit bigger, but were still adorably cute. But then I noticed that there was only one white duckling, when earlier in the week there were two. How many ducklings were there total? Today we counted six.
Then me and Sarah noticed two were walking with a noticeable limp. One had one of his webbed feet curled up, and another was walking on one of his knees. They both were clearly having trouble standing, and when they were in the water, their tails stayed under water.
Otherwise, they seemed to be their usual chipper selves. We were able to get real close to them all, and the ducks didn't mind, probably because Sarah fed them bread yesterday (she counted six ducklings then, too).
What could have happened? I immediately speculated that one of the neighborhood dogs jumped them. As we discussed the possibilities, a single black bird landed among the ducks, and immediately all hell broke loose.
Well ok, maybe not, but the five adult muscovies immediately began freaking out. They started panting loudly and bobbing their heads in a vicious manner. I saw them do this one time when we woke up a bunch of them late at night -- I always assumed this was a "pissed off get the fuck away" sort of posture. The mother duck (who was closest to us) took a sudden lunge in our direction, which made me stand up and take a step away from them. Two of the adult males started confronting the black bird, trying to push it away from them. The ducklings began clustering close together, and a third male then pushed up against the black bird. The bird let out an annoying caw, and flew away.
Almost immediately, all returned to normal. The adults calmed down, and the ducklings continued to wade along the shore, eating algae.
There's a mottled duck that seems to like hanging near the muscovies, and they don't mind. There were ibises nearby as well that caused little commotion. But this black bird's arrival caused quite a stir. Had we found our culprit?
Back home, I consulted my bird book and identified the black bird as a common grackle. We have a lot of these guys in our area. They are loud and annoying, but otherwise I paid them no mind before. The description of the grackle including this line: "Will feast on eggs and baby birds."
Uh oh.
Two missing ducklings, two more with serious injury. I think this mystery has been solved.
Sad, really. But it was pretty cool seeing this brood of ducks get up in arms to protect their young like that. I don't think the injured ducklings will make it, unfortunately. But I'll keep a close eye on them as they continue to grow.
As for the grackles... for some reason I'm thinking of Masami Saotome from Boogiepop and Others saying "You are now my enemy." Christ, I thought I had outgrown my anime faggot phase.