Duck update

It's been a while, but the current state of affairs in the quad are as follows. The original brood is still doing well, and still has 7 ducklings, though these are now well on their way to looking like adult ducks. The second (surviving; actually the third) brood is down to a single duckling, though this is getting bigger. I've actually not seen said lone wanderer today, but I did catch sight yesterday. The main news is that we now have a third brood. It had 5 tiny ducklings when I first saw it yesterday, but I can only see 4 today. And, based on past performance, I'd guess that there were more than 10 to start off with.

In other news, contrary to official decree, I've now seen a member of staff (who will remain nameless) feeding the ducks. And another even asked me to feed them while she was away on business. So the effort by Estates to wean the ducks from their quad seems doomed to failure this year. Especially if the surviving brood makes a successful exit and then returns next year. However, the pitiless operation of Malthusian Law means that we're unlikely to be up to our eyeballs in ducks any time soon.

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Update: I've just caught sight of brood two's solo survivor; and brood three does still have 5 chicks after all.