I was packing up after work today, when I heard an almighty racket from out on the meadow. I grabbed my camera and ran round the house to see what on earth was going on.
I couldn’t see anything untoward at first, but then I caught a glimpse of burnt orange amongst the meadow-grass; a fox with something in its jaws (click on photos to enlarge – if you like).
Only then did I notice the female mandarin duck and …
… realised that it was her making all that noise. The fox (holding on to its mandarin duckling) …
… started to make off, pausing only to throw a glance in my direction.
But, suddenly, the duck was back …
… flapping over the fox’s head to land nearby hoping, I think, to divert the fox’s attention away from its prize.
Thwarted in her attempt, she tried again, swooping low and …
… again landing nearby.
But, her efforts were in vain; the fox unconcerned by her feints and squawks …
… carried his/her booty away. Leaving behind …
… a bereft (and very beautiful) mother.
I didn’t even know that the mandarins had raised a brood this year (they didn’t use the owl nest-box like last year). I certainly hadn’t seen any ducklings – except for today, in the mouth of a fox. Though I often find clumps of feathers and the remains of birds and rabbits about the Priory, I do forget that it is a place of death – as well as of life and beauty.
