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Thu 27 Apr, 2006 08:27 pm
I have a friend who lives in quiet neighborhood, mostly townhomes that surround a large pond which is rife with wildlife. My friend was working in her yard earlier today and noticed a nest with eight large eggs in it. The nest was sitting in the open right near her front door and my friend assumed, correctly, that they were duck eggs, because when she returned from a brisk walk the duck was sitting comfortably on the eggs.
My friend went inside, did a load of laundry, had a sandwich, and then went back outside. Not more than an hour had passed.
The duck was gone. So were the eggs. Not a trace of a shell remained.
Now one might assume a dog came along and ate the eggs but in all the years my friend has lived in that particular neighborhood she has never seen a dog without an owner and leash present. Plus foxes and skunks would have the decency to eat the eggs in a nocturnal or crepuscular manner, but the eggs were consumed at high noon.
Or were they? Could that mother duck have moved those eggs to another location? But how?
I feel a little bit embarrassed asking this question because I am supposed to be the resident duck expert on this site, but I guess I have never encountered a situation where a duck has to transport her eggs to another location.
I would like to know if a duck is capable of somehow manipulating an egg under its wing and transporting it to a nearby location. Or could a duck simply put the egg in its mouth, fly somewhere, and come back for another trip.
I am going mad. I need answers and I need them NOW!
Snakes swallow duck eggs whole.
Are you trying to tell me that eight snakes slid up and had lunch, Green Witch?
I'm not buying it.
Not 8 snakes, just one very large snake.
The capybaras escaped and gorged themselves, and you're ashamed to admit to being such an irresponsible capybara farmer?
Can people be beat for bad puns?
Just wondering.
Could a well meaning passerby have scared off the bird and then picked up the nest?
We can rule out Green Witch's snake theory. I know with utmost certainty that this was not the doings of a snake.
I actually found a website that has video of predators eating poultry eggs. I didn't watch, but the second video indicates that it shows a snake eating a clutch of eggs:
http://www.talltimbers.org/research/gamebirdnpreds.html
(isn't the internet a wonder?)
No, Ceili, not possible.
Nice to see you, by the way.
gustavratzenhofer wrote:We can rule out Green Witch's snake theory. I know with utmost certainty that this was not the doings of a snake.
I would like specifics before I admit defeat.
She lives near a pond, you say. Not only snakes but turtles, too, eat bird's eggs. Not to mention that snapping turtles will drag a swimming waterfowl under by the fowl's foot and eat it feathers and all. The fact that mamma duck, too, is missing raises certain suspicions. Furthermore, while foxes do tend to be generally nocturnal, I have seen a red fox trotting along acorss a road at mid-morning in very broad daylight. Late breakfast?
So, what, we've ruled out the capybaras just like that? <hmph>
The snake can be ruled out, Greenwitch, because the area she lives in does not have anything bigger than a common garter snake.
And Merry's theory on the turtle, while appreciated, is not possible. What is the likehood that a turtle would have emerged from the pond, walked the entire length of the yard, (50 yards) crossed the patio, walked up the front sidewalk, ate the eggs, the returned to the pond? All in less than in hour and without being noticed. Nope, rule the turtle out. And the fox. Like I said, it was high noon and a fox have never been seen in this neighborhood.
Raccoon? But they are generally nocturnal.
I suppose it could have been one of the capybaras, cypher.
I'll check their teeth for telltale yolk.
That's a cool site, GreenWitch. I only wish the images were a little crisper.
The one where the snake jumped into the air to snatch the flying quail was most impressive.
Maybe they were velociraptor eggs. Maybe the duck wandered over, drunk and disoriented, and decided to just plop down on some other animals eggs by accident. Then the velociraptor mommy came back, scared the duck off, and then moved the eggs to a new location.
It could happen.
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