Storms hurt wildlife, too.

  I was ready to announce the newest addition to the Bayou Family this week but now, the news might be one of sadness instead of joy.  A pair of Mottled Ducks was nesting in the marsh not far from the pier but with all of the stormy weather of the past few days, I am not sure the nest of eggs survived.  Today, both parent birds were on the pier looking a bit lost. They wandered aimlessly about as if hunting for something..that something might have either been the nest or perhaps the little ones themselves.  It makes me sad to think that the little family might have been lost due to the high water.  The tide was extremely high and with flood waters barreling down the Bayou from the hills beyond, everything was flooded.  Poor little ducklings.  Only time will tell if we are blessed with tiny ducklings this year or if the nest was lost.

  The Mottled Ducks are the only ducks that nest in the marshes around here.  They stay on the Bayou all year and do not migrate like the others that come for our mild winters.  Although they are not as brilliantly colored as other ducks, I really like them merely because they are "our" ducks. I can always count on either seeing them (or at least hearing them) about the Bayou.  We started with a single pair several years ago and now have nigh on thirty ducks.  They seem to like the mudflats and also the free handouts of grain that my cousin, Michelle, gives them.  Several times a day they make the short flight (or swim) to her house.  There, they fill their bellies full and paddle around in a small pool that she has specifically for their pleasure.  Afterwards they head home to the Bayou where they nest, spend their days dabbling about the shallows and calling to one another.  I sure hope the little ones survived the storm.