The Consolation of Ducks

Send us Fan MailDid you know that ducks participate in ‘coordinated loafing’? But that might not be the only surprising/endearing thing about them. Tonight, we celebrate the joy ducks bring thanks to video posted by a stranger in Canada.Journal entry: 20th September, Friday“Hanging at the still-point between Summer and winter’s Swing and counter-swing.Rooks roister joyously westwards, Red with promise. Above them, fourteen successive Straggles of geese Head eastwards Flying on swift wingbeats Against the grain of the day.” Episode Information:In this episode I refer to Mark Hogben’s video reel (11/09/24) on Instagram of him feeding the ducks. I also briefly mention the following:Miles Hadfield’s (1950) An English Almanac Godfrey Baseley’s (1977) A Country Compendium Stefan Buczacki’s (2002) Fauna Britanica Jennifer Ackerman’s (2021) The Bird Way. With special thanks to our lock-wheelers for supporting this podcast.Tania Yorgey Andrea Hansen Chris Hinds David Dirom Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger Captain Arlo Rebecca Russell Allison on the narrowboat Mukka Derek and Pauline Watts Anna V. Orange Cookie Donna Kelly Mary Keane. Tony Rutherford. Arabella Holzapfel. Rory with MJ and Kayla. Narrowboat Precious Jet. Linda Reynolds Burkins. Richard Noble. Carol Ferguson. Tracie Thomas Mark and Tricia Stowe Madeleine SmithGeneral DetailsIn the intro and the outro, Saint-Saen's The Swan is performed by Karr and Bernstein (1961) and available on CC at archive.org. Two-stroke narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River Weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org on 23rd June 2018. Creative Commons Licence. Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.All other audio recorded on site. Support the showBecome a 'Lock-Wheeler'Would you like to support this podcast by becoming a 'lock-wheeler' for Nighttime on Still Waters? Find out more: 'Lock-wheeling' for Nighttime on Still Waters.ContactFacebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.socialMastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw  I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message by clicking on the microphone icon. For more information about Nighttime on Still WatersYou can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.