An Erdinger has observed a complete family of ducks as the twelve Bibbis literally became fledged. The whole thing happened to him on the balcony high above the city.
Erding - Michael Sachweh is to be envied: he lives in the middle of the old town of Erdingen - and so high up that he enjoys a wonderful view over Erding. However, material woes had no eye for the city. Because he had visitors, more precisely, long-term overnight guests. A family of ducks had made themselves comfortable on Sachweh's balcony on the fifth floor. And we started the family.
"The planters on my loggia on the fifth floor must have been an enticing alternative for the expectant mallard mother to the nesting sites near the ground on the nearby stream: no danger from foxes or martens, but a dream view over the roofs of Erding," reports the involuntary free Temporary landlord.
At the beginning of April, the duck mom started building the nest. "To do this, she used the earth from one of Sachweh's planters and built her nest under the protection of a small Nordmann fir," reports Sachweh. The needle-like journeyman stood as a Christmas tree in the good room for Christmas.
Boys hatched in April
The young hatched at the end of April. “The ducks are a bit ahead of us humans in some things. Barely more than twelve weeks pass between courtship, brood and nest flight. And with the offspring there is more padding than there is splicing: an average of seven to 16 specimens counts - each year, ”explains the factual woes that have risen to become a duck expert.
He promptly witnessed how quickly ducks are brought up. "The next morning the duck mother collected her twelve chicks and took them for a walk through my planters."
Everything captured with the camera
What they had no idea: They were being watched. Sachweh is also a passionate photographer - and followed his long-loved roommates with a camera and telephoto lens. "But always at a reasonable distance," he assures. He is proud that he was able to witness a unique natural spectacle in the middle of the city.
The fledging was a "drama in three acts": "First the mother sat on the edge of the bucket and probed the best landing site for her chicks in all directions. Then she led her little ones into the corner, which she saw as the ideal jump base. “Suddenly she jumped and flew down. “The chicks never saw their mother for the first time and were shocked. They peeped like on a spit, ”remembers Sachweh.
Duck polonaise in the stream
The mother croaked steadily below. “Their call to call awakened unexpected strength and heroism among the little ones. They climbed onto the parapet one after the other and then plunged into the depths. “Everyone would have survived the first jump of their lives.
A guilty conscience didn't have to be factual. "I knew beforehand that ducklings usually master such jumps from a great height with flying colors." Because they already had wings and were still very light. The fluff also gives them high air resistance.
And the end of the adventure? "Downstairs the mother gathered up her little ones and then waddled in a chick procession to the nearby stream." A chick kamikaze with a happy ending for material agony.