Duck Tale 03

Another late morning pic today. He ate vigorously, and was darting about when not dozing, good signs. Wanted to check the literal accuracy of a couple of English idioms before taking him to the rehabber, so gave him a tupperware pool. Both turned out to be true in his case, and he got a good five minute low impact workout, but also completely soaked his underside.

It's been a warm, sunny day, and uptil then, had seen him only in artificial or overcast natural light, another good excuse to get him out on the grass. Learnt later from the rehabber that he is barely 2-3 days old, so must have been a newborn when we encountered the brood on Tuesday. (So this might even be his first experience with grass.) Afterwards, he had his first car ride, up to Cape Ann Wildlife, Inc,a small but reputed outfit in Gloucester, MA, USA, licensed to work with waterfowl -- there are very few in this area. The rehabber thinks it is a good sign that he is so lively. He will have at least two other chicks for company, one a mallard like him, and one a wood duck. Later he will be introduced to a larger group of older waterfowl, and will eventually be released into the wild when he is about five weeks old. Till then, think he is in good hands.