My name is "Squirt"

Meet "Squirt".... 3 days old here !!

Here's how it all started:

We have here on our little farm our own breeding pekin ducks and we cannot forget "Lucky" our 2 year old call duck.  We hatched successfully 13 babies !!!!  Twelve were born starting at 5 a.m. on July 26th and Squirt was born on July 27th at 5:30 a.m., so it was a busy couple of days and a busy month!!

Here they all are in the brooder 3 days old!! Squirt is in the far bottom right hand corner and the tiniest of the brood!!

We decided to incubate some pekin duck eggs for the first time and so glad that we did.  We learned a lot about the whole process and it was such a rewarding experience.  The eggs were candled the first week of incubation and you could see the first signs of life....When we saw the hearts beating, the excitement began.  Everyday, I turned the eggs a few times and kept the temperature and humidity at the proper levels and soon, the babies were being introduced one by one !!  Pipping started at day 26 and for the next 2 days the little ducklings worked very very hard to break through their shells... At exactly 28 days, they were born....

Here is a short video: (click on bottom right hand corner of video for full screen)

Squirt looks quite content snuggled up to Skye.... (2 days old)

Squirt finds a great place to hide.... (3 days old)

Looks like a comfy spot to rest my head.... !!

Squirt loves to sleep....

Playtime.............

Squirt's first ''piggyback'' ride

Squirt in the red bandana....

All 13 ducklings sporting their new bandanas at 5 days old....
**UPDATE** This photo was published in Canadian Geographic
PETS 2015 Special Collectors Edition
You can see it here 

And then there was one.............

Squirt's first night alone....

We decided to keep Squirt and add her to our existing duck family and we have found two loving homes for the other 12....(six to each farm)  A couple of little stuffed teddies in Squirt's house took away some of the lonesomeness.... We go outside for lots of exercise and playtime and the other ducks and chickens are curious about the ''new family member'', but we have to wait a little bit longer until she is feathered and big enough to tag along with our other waddling angels in the pond.  It will be fun to watch her playing, exploring, chasing after bugs and being mischievous like the others.  It is also going to be interesting to see if Squirt has Lucky's looks or mama pekin's when she is fully grown.... We will keep you posted!!

UPDATE:

Squirt just wrote a children's picture book!!!! ;-))))
Well, ok....I helped out just a little bit (wink, wink)

Squirt narrates her story of a warm summer day. She explores her enchanted world while enjoying her friends and meeting new ones. She always has time for fun, especially with Skye, who is her best friend. Have you ever seen a baby duck riding piggyback on a Border Collie, hiding in a sneaker, or sleeping with her teddy bear? Now you can! This picture book is a great addition to any child's collection, and will provide your family with many cherished memories for years to come. Come join us in the magical world of Squirt, Skye, and their delightful friends.

**Features full color double page illustrations**

Now Available on AMAZON - Paperback and eBook!!

For your convenience, you can order here on AMAZON.CA 

 Or if you prefer AMAZON.COM in one easy step!

Ebook orders can be placed here 

Daisy

After the morning rain

Here is a flower that is common and that just about everyone knows; it is the daisy.  Every flower has a meaning and the daisy represents loyalty to love and commitment.

I remember as young children playing, we would take a daisy and pick the white petals off one at a time until they were all gone while repetitively saying, ''he loves me, he loves me not''. If we said ''he loves me'' on the last petal picked, we would crumble up all of the yellow center and throw it up in the air and then try to catch as many yellow seeds back in our hand.  Then, we'd count them and that is how many children we were going to have!!!!

Daisies are one of my favorite perennials that make me smile, and yes, the kid is still in me....accept now when I play this game, I can happily say ''he loves me, he loves me lots'' !!

This is a great flower to give to anybody that you truly care about.

Downy Woodpecker.... part 2

After my post from yesterday, Downy Woodpecker, I just had to create a part 2!!

There was a lot of activity going on outside that immediately caught my attention.... I heard the sounds of distress from a little bird, but could not locate it immediately.  Then, I found him....

Baby male Downy Woodpecker

He managed to get himself lodged between two branches and could not get himself out....

I was able to gently lift him up with my fingers and he was able to re-position himself on the branch....I took a few photos and then he flew to a nearby tree.

This story doesn't end here!!  It wasn't until I put my photos on the computer that I noticed in one of the pictures that his left eye was closed.  It was like that in all of the photos.  (very visible in the first photo posted above and slightly in the one below) I then realized that something was wrong with his little eye.  Was it poked by a tree branch or a siblings beak in the nest?  Or could it be a birth defect?  I felt so bad because he was now gone from the tree where I initially helped him get ''unstuck''.  Then a few hours later.....

....There he was hanging onto the post above while his mother was feeding below!! I snapped this photo, then set my camera down and proceeded to walk closer to the baby to see if I could get a closer look at his eye!!  The mother flew to a nearby tree, and the baby didn't move.... I slowly raised my hand closer towards him and he still didn't move.  He made it very easy by allowing me to put him in my hand. (Maybe he remembered me helping him from earlier in the day.... )

Once he was comfortable in my hand, I took him into the house and began to take an even closer look.  Our two house cats, Philly and Misty and our Border Collie, Skye are getting used to our feathered friends coming into the house these days.  This was the second bird that needed help in less than a month!! Here is our Hummingbird Rescue !!  To make a long story short, I got out my homeopathy kit and wet a soft cloth with some colloidal silver and gently held it over his eye.  I massaged the area and in a few minutes, his eye began to open up!!!! I was excited and I am certain he was too!!  I put a drop or two of colloidal silver in some water and let him drink it.  Colloidal silver helped in this situation as I was able to clean the area and prevent possible infection in the eye.

His eye is open now and all cleaned up!!

Once confident that his eye was looking better, I gave him a little snack of peanut butter and another drink of water before releasing him outside with his family.  I put him back on the bird feeder and he looked around for a moment and then flew to this stump....

Baby (left) and Father re-united!!

 

How precious is this!!  The father feeding the baby moments after he was in my hand!!

I came to notice that there are at least 3 babies being taken care of by mom and dad... Two boys and a girl!! Here (see photo below) is the female baby now about a week older from this photo !!

Glad to see another happy ending and hopefully they all live long productive lives!! :-)

Downy Woodpecker

This was most likely the first outing for this little gal.... ''downy'' suits the name for her in this photo.... she was observing her father at the feeder and learning how she must soon begin fending for herself!!  There are all kinds of baby birds coming out of the nests at this time of year, exploring the new world around them!!  It gives us a full-time job (and a happy one at that) making sure all of the feeders are filled for our feathered friends.... 

Daddy at the suet showing baby how it is done!! The noticeable difference between the female and male Downy Woodpecker is the male has a red patch on the top of his head!!

Oh Deer !!

Male White Tail Deer

This little fella came to visit us, and get a drink from the pond just before bedtime.  Our free ranged chickens and rooster became very vocal when the deer announced his presence, but after a few minutes and sharing the same space for awhile, they accepted him!!

 This buck is approximately 2 years old

He decided to take a stroll by the barn before heading out!!

Through my lens today !

What a great addition to our farm!!  This wild rabbit is only a couple of weeks old.... What a cutie !!

The Iris is a perennial that attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.  It comes in many colors, shapes and sizes and is named after a Greek goddess.  The purple iris is symbolic of wisdom and compliments.

Dandelions look like a nasty old weed but they are full of Vitamins A, B, C and D.  The leaves are used to make tea and can add flavor to sandwiches and salads.  Did you ever hear of dandelion wine?  The dandelion flowers are used to make wine.

 

The Canadian Tiger Swallowtail -  This species of butterfly is the only member of the worldwide swallowtail family to live this far north.

This little fox was curled up, sleeping on the side of the road.  As we drove closer, our headlights startled her and she quickly stood up....It was almost dark, so I cranked up my camera ISO and managed to get this cute ''posed'' image of her!!

Great Blue Heron

This Great Blue Heron gracefully landed by our pond with great anticipation of catching a goldfish or two for supper.  They are here often and compete with the bald eagles and fish hawks for a meal.  Herons, like most of our birds, are legally protected by the Migratory Birds Convention Act and Regulations.

Tree Swallows

The male and female look a lot alike except the female may be a little more greenish

We have been observing this pair of Tree Swallows since they arrived!! They are using the  birdhouse right beside our bedroom window !!  They didn't have too far to go to get their materials.  We watched them go back and forth to the chicken/duck houses gathering hay and feathers.  They also found time to play. They were dropping the feathers and re-catching them in flight!  The nest is complete now and courting begins!!

Mating Tree Swallows

 

We are going to have babies !!!!!!!!

Incubation: lasts 14 - 15 days.  It starts the day next to the last egg that is laid.  The female often sticks her head out of the hole and looks like a little orca.

(Like in this photo of her below)

She is so adorable.. I think she saw her reflection in my lens !! (click photos to enlarge <3)

I have learned that: adult Tree Swallows consume 2000 insects and feed 6000 insects to their young over a 45 day nesting period. That means that each nestbox family consumes more than 300,000 insects.  WOW!! That's a lot of flies and here in the back country,  I say ''welcome little feathered friends"

We expect the babies to hatch the week of the 24th.. Hopefully, we can capture some mealtime photos and share them with you!!

 Quote:::: It is almost as if they live to fly, rather than, as most birds, fly to live.
- Robert R. Cohen, Sialia, 1984

Raindrop Art

Mother nature's creation ~ I just captured it !!

Hummingbird Rescue

Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

WOW, our first sleep-over with a hummingbird!! It all started with our neighbor calling us to say she had a hummer on the ground and it needed to be gently nurtured back to health.  When I arrived a few moments later, a little gift box was handed over to me.... When I slowly lifted the lid, I saw this feathered sweetie, eyes closed on a pink and white cloth struggling to breathe....Her life was now in our hands!!

Eyes are closed and she is weak

We came home and I quickly made up a little sugar and water and got the syringe out.  I introduced it to her and a few moments later, she started to respond.. I held the dropper right on the edge of her beak and fed her every 10 min for about 2 hours.... (that was amazing!!!!)

She is starting to respond

We decided, since it was getting dark and she was not ready to be released, she would spend the night.... In between feedings, we rigged up a vacant 10 gal aquarium with some soft bedding and some dried branches.... We also took in the window bird feeder and placed it inside her house, hoping that she would be self-feeding by morning!!

Hummers house for the night

She is resting better and snuggled down for the night

  These next set of pictures are taken through the glass

of the aquarium and will look a bit cloudy ~~

She is thankful for the soft bed!!

Nestled down for the night!!

The next morning...............

5:30 a.m. she is practicing her flying skills

Soft landing <3

Looking strong and having lots of movement

Filling her belly and getting ready for the outdoors!!

We decided that this little feathered friend was ready to explore her life once more!!  Once outside, she glanced at us for a second as if to simply say ''thank you'', then flew to the nearby birch tree to get her bearings.... Then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone!!  It was a magical moment to have the opportunity to care for such a tiny little being.... Maybe someday she will return to say hi.... She will always be welcome here <3