Some very special visitors

The field behind our garden and its "lake"

The field behind our garden has a spring beneath it.  This often causes it to flood during the Winter months, but this year the excessive amount of rain has caused the spring to overflow and flood the field now, too.   It's shallow enough for the sheep and lambs to slosh through if they have to.  But it has been deep enough to attract a few visitors too.

We had a little Sandpiper skirting round the edges looking for insects - haven't seen one of those in the field before.   A Canada Goose and a couple of Greylags dropped in for a moment or two, but quickly left when the water didn't come much above their ankles.   But best of all, we've had ducks!   Wooohooo!   Take a look at this lot.

The first to arrive

Picture by:  Rror

Yes, OK, it's just a Mallard and you see them all over the place.   They're common as muck really.  They come across to us for a visit if there's just the smallest puddle in the middle of the field.  But if, like me, you'd dearly love to have ducks but haven't the room, any and all ducks are welcome.

Aha, but look what arrived next.

A visitor from foreign parts

Picture by:   Yoki

Mandarins!   Hows that for a bit more exotic then.   Although they breed in the UK, I've never seen them cavorting  round among our sheep before.   The Mrs. decided it really wasn't her kind of drop-in, but he liked it in these parts and has visited every day.   He floats around having a think, then paddles over to the dead oak to see what there is to see.  When he gets fed up with that, he settles down on one of the little islands and thinks some more.   He's so lovely, I could eat him!   Oops, didn't mean that literally.

And then ........... d-daaaaa

Fancied a trip to the country

Picture by:   Arpingstone

Wooohoo - two Shelducks arrived!   I would love to get me some of these for my longed-for duck pond.   They stayed all afternoon, presumably to give me time to wallow in their beauty.   Then they decided enough was enough.   They hadn't been able to find a single shellfish of any kind and there wasn't much else in our little lake to tickle their palate.   So off they went.

So I'm off to ask the farmer if he could put a plug in his field.   That way, the lake would become a permanent feature and who knows what else would find its way here.