Went to start in the garden, but found....

[MissyLouWho?]

a female Black Swedish duck on a nest of 8 eggs!  I have to completely dig up my garden before I can start planting.  I don't even know if she's done laying yet.  I scared her and she flew over the railing and into the lagoon where she yelled at me for a few minutes, and called her friends for moral support  .  I didn't know the ducks were laying at all yet!  This has been a really warm winter and I guess they are ready.  What do I do with a nest?  Can I move it?  She HAD to nest right where I was going to dig up my blackberry bramble too  .  And there's a cat that loves to lay 4 feet from that spot.  What was she thinking  ???  And what can I do about it?  I don't want to kill them, but I really don't have another 4-6 weeks to wait either.  I have people coming to help dig up and prep the garden this week.  Wish I could incubate them and keep them  but I'm just asking for trouble!

[Joe S.]

At our old home we had a duck nest appear near our front step under the picture window. It was hidden from the street by the plantings. The duck fled the nest when the neighborhood children saw and harassed her. I spoke with the kids but a few days later the mom had fled, and the eggs were broken.

Every year the that she came back to nest I suggested another place where the kids would not find her.

[Madison Granny]

We've had ducks come walking down our street.  I guess they were looking for a place to nest.  They didn't find one around me.  But 2 Barn Swallows did.  They tried to build their nest above my front door.  When I opened it to walk out it feel on my head.  Boy was I scared.  Those birds were not going to give up building their nest there.  I talk to my Dad who was a farmer about what I could do and he told me I had to make it noisy and unattractive to them.  We put up our granddaughter pin wheels to cause a noise and sprayed Raid.  Those birds are sure determined birds.  I finally took the hose and spray at them when they would come and they finally gave up.  I really thought they never would.

[MissyLouWho?]

I checked this morning and she had come back, laid another egg, and then covered them up with straw.  So I guess I didn't scare her too bad.  Animal control called me back this morning and said if I move her nest, she won't take care of them and they will die.  Looks like my garden will wait in favor of 9 new fluffy babies  .  I sure wish I had a duck-cam to video the hatching. 

[Joe S.]

Start your plants in the window, transplant them when the eggs hatch.

[eye2dry]

MissyLouWho.

you are so lucky to have this going  on so close to watch it go down.
I am not familiar with this type of duck, is it in the U.S?

we have to work around ducks and geese on our property every spring.
my main complaint is when too many geese come to our place and stay too long....the goose poop is all over

good luck and happy gardening!


eye2dry