Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with ducks

Quack quack, woof woof.

txvtchick — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:09:06 -0800

Does swimming dog + smartass ducks = lost dog? I'd like to let my labs swim more often but am afraid that they'll swim off after a duck and get lost. How can I let them swim without losing them? Have any of you ever lost a dog from taking him or her swimming? And finally, why do ducks seem to enjoy screwing with my dogs?

Tale of two dogs: one black lab male, one chocolate lab female. The male has a solid recall when he's not in the water. The female has, shall we say, selective hearing.

Some time ago, we took the male to Town Lake in Austin and started tossing a tennis ball in for him to chase. When some ducks swam by, he abandoned the ball and started swimming after them.

We called him back to no avail. Soon he was swimming around the middle of the Colorado River, following the ducks around. He did this for about 20 minutes. I couldn't see how he would find his way back to where we were, and worse, he could decide to swim all the way across and exit onto an area with a busy road. We kept calling him and soon nearby joggers and walkers took pity on us and started calling to him, too. It was quite comical. He eventually made his way back, but I've been too scared to take him swimming since then.

A similar thing happened yesterday with the female. I found a cove-like area with no people around, and decided to let her fetch/swim a bit. She did fine until a duck appeared - then she abandoned the ball and swam after the duck. Fortunately she turned around after about 50 yards.

In both cases, the ducks swam in a very leisurely manner, just barelyyyyy out of reach of the dogs, instead of just flying away. Why? I did not see any nests around, but maybe they were leading the dogs away from a nesting area? It looked like the ducks were enjoying themselves in a "la la la la la, you can't catch me" way. Anthropomorphizing, I know.

I don't know of a fenced in area with a pond that we could use. We don't have a swimming pool. I think training a bird dog to ignore ducks is probably an exercise in futility, but I'm open to suggestions. Any ideas? Or should I just give up on taking them swimming?

What species of duck is this?

comfortinsound — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 13:34:55 -0800

Please help me identify the species of duck that I saw last week in North Carolina. About a week ago, I was in North Carolina visiting family, and I saw the most interesting ducks at Duke Gardens. They were a striking orangy-gold color and white. Does anyone know what species they might be?

migratory bird ID

otio — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:48:25 -0800

Please help me identify the birds I've been seeing paddling around Boston Harbor/Dorchester Bay these past few weeks. Snow white feathers on the back, dark otherwise. Don't know if it's some sort of duck or goose. I started jogging around Columbia Point this past summer and got to know the gulls, ducks, and cormorants who live in the water there but a few weeks ago these beautiful birds appeared which I've been unable to identify. Brilliant white feathers on the back, dark feathers on the rest of the body, the kind of bill that extends pretty far around the head, bigger than a mallard, smaller than a canada goose. I've seen up to a half-dozen at a time diving and fishing along the shore. What are these birds?

How to cure sick ducks?

soiled cowboy — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 09:49:39 -0800

Sick ducks in need of help. We have two Pekin ducks, each about 2 months old, living in a pen in our backyard. They get plenty of food (cooked rice, "starter" mash, and plants and insects they find on their own) and clean water (from our tap and from a nearby stream). Daily exercise is achieved by waddling about the yard freely. Today they are ill, acting sluggish and slow, without all their normal exuberant quackery and fun. They have no appetite and drink little water. Can somebody with duck experience please help us get them flapping again? If it helps: we do not use pesticides on the lawn and their suburban stream appears clean.

Which duck species mate for life?

Shane — Tue, 06 Jul 2004 10:59:29 -0800

Which species of ducks mate for life? My info tells me so far that most do: Mallards, Mandarins, Whistling Ducks, Maned Ducks, not to mention geese and swans. But Emperor Ducks are not monogamous? Any other species? And I've read that a surviving Mallard will "remarry" if its mate dies. Is this true, true for both sexes, and do the other species do the same?