Like ducklings taking to water
WHEN cookbook editor Kitty Stogdon called in at Braunston Marina on August 21 for a two-week break from her itinerant life as a single continuous cruiser on her 60ft narrowboat, she discovered the following morning that a mallard hen had moved in overnight to make its nest in the large plant box on the boat’s cabin roof garden.
It was too late to do anything, as by now the duck was in the process of laying a clutch of eggs; by the afternoon there were nine of them. Amazingly, the nesting spot chosen was surrounded by boats, with people constantly walking up and down the pontoon. This did not seem to concern the duck, which lay flat and seemed to almost to disappear under its brown camouflaged feathers.
Kitty, 32, reported the incident to the marina office, where owner Tim Coghlan said there was nothing that could be done until the ducklings had hatched and moved on. This could take at least six weeks, but the good news was that Kitty would not have to pay for the mooring beyond the agreed two weeks. As she was in Braunston, with all its marina and village facilities, including four pubs, she could not have chosen a better place. The bad news was that Kitty’s cat Badger would have to stay firmly ensconced in the boat’s cabin for the duration.
In early October, all the eggs hatched. Once the ducklings were ready to fly the nest, under guidance from their mother, they tumbled the 5ft or so into the water, where their mother mustered them for an inaugural swim. Soon they were pecking at the weed on the boat’s waterline.
They became more adventurous over the next few days until they moved away into one of the set-aside nature areas adjacent to water in the marina. This allowed Badger to come out of the cabin and Kitty to move on.
By this time, two of the ducklings had somehow sadly died, but the others seemed to be coping well.
It was all something of a mystery as to why the mallard should be nesting so late into the year. One moorer at Braunston Marina, who is an expert on waterfowl, commented that this was happening in many areas of nature, probably related to global warming, with swans now seen to be having two broods a year. It was certainly the first time this had been observed at Braunston Marina.