These ducks can be such a worry ...

Last night it was gone half past seven when I started to put the ducks in, the ones in the shed went in first, I counted 9.  NINE?  Where was Honey?  I looked in all the places where I know she spends time, nothing.
I put the 5 girls in, then Anke and Captain, and had another serious look around, under bushes, all the normal hiding places, and I was getting seriously worried.
Just before 8 John returned from Chapel.  "What's up?" he said to my worried face, I explained.  "Oh", he said, "she'll already be in there.  The last two nights she went in before all the others to get herself a good place!"    I checked, she was there!  Big relief!

Anke hates the "attentions" from Tuts, Jay and Ben so much that she hides out of their way all day long, Captain goes with her.  Last week I spent ages trying to find the pair when they weren't at the nature pond.  Going up and down our ditch in search for them I eventually HEARD them, schnozzling in some water [where many years ago the water mill stood] in neighbour's field the other side of our ditch beyond the thicket.  They followed me up then when I called them.

This afternoon I went to refresh their hut and replenished their food supply, and when I looked around for them I could see them there, way out in neighbour's field:

They did come up right away when I called, and I expected them to come through the fence where I was standing - but no, they turned left:



I went along the ditch to see where they were going through, but could neither hear nor see them.  Then I heard a shriek, and looking back halfway up the big field there was the black Jay on top of Anke with Captain trying to fight him off!  So our little miscreant drakes ALWAYS seem to know where Anke can be found if I can't.

By this time the heavens had really opened and I arrived back at the house dripping.  Looking out of the window upstairs before going to warm up in the shower I could see Captain and Anke way up in the field near the nature pond again .........................

What's most worrying about Anke and Captain going so far away is that most fox attacks have come from that direction, and it's getting to be that time of year again when the vixen are looking to feed their young.  I don't know how to stop our two, Anke always finds a hole in a fence or under it.