Lady Merganser

Lady Merganser,
Ducklings at your feet,
Wonder how you manage,
To make ends meet.

I do wonder, except NO DUCKLINGS. Back in May Lady (Hooded) Merganser was courted by Drake (Hooded) Merganser. They did everything that a couple in love should do, I presume. He hung around for a week or more. She invited him up to the oak tree nest to 'see her etchings'...blah, blah, blah. He left. She stayed.

Houston, we have a problem. I've been waiting for weeks now to see some ducklings jump out of the tree onto our lawn. But NO DUCKLINGS. Lady Merganser faithfully tends the nest, but enough time has passed that I'm now wondering if something went wrong.

What could have gone wrong? I've compiled a list of possible scenarios....

1) Drake Merganser was a gay art enthusiast and was actually interested in her etchings, not her.
2) Drake Merganser is hetero, but impotent.
3) Lady Merganser was frigid.
4) Lady Merganser was impotent.
5) Merganser eggs take 3 to 5 years to hatch and I'm simply being impatient.
6) Lady Merganser lives in the nest but has decided, due to financial limitations, that now is not the time to raise a family. Note: her lackluster portfolio hasn't performed as was predicted by her financial adviser, who took his 2% cut anyway, leaving her no option but to wait until her R.O.I. improved.
7) The eggs froze in early June.

Any of these seven scenarios are possible. All I know is that 'I paid my five bits to see the high divin' act, and I'm a gonna see the high divin' act'! I really would  love to see the ducklings jump from the nest. I've seen it once, about 7 years ago, and it was amazing. It's a 20 foot drop from the nest to the ground, and the ducklings do it fearlessly. For now, I'm waiting, waiting, waiting....