elfmama

mama is a little agitated.

she sits on this rock and ruffles her feathers and shakes her tailfeathers.

even though we are quite a safe distance away, high up on the breakwall. in fact we are higher up than usual (or she is lower down than usual) since the water level hasn't been so low in decades.

I certainly have never seen these rocks above the waterline before.

with a few quacks, she gathers her brood together.

head count...

there's always a straggler.
right, all together now, count off - one, two, three, ... up to eleven.

(or, in Dutch - een, twee, drie ... elf)

I was talking to a woman this morning who lives in that condo building and she was telling me that there was a nest on the third floor terrace. She wasn't certain just how they got the family across the road, through the park and into the water, but it involved some wildlife rescue people.

they move fast, these little fellas do,

but I managed one or two clear close ups

say awwwwwwww