Friday, February 24, 2012

A one legged susie?

We saw this susie standing on the railing.
 She seemed to have just one leg. 
 We watched and waited.
 Slowly, orange claws creeped out from her feathers.
 It was as if she were wiggling her toes awake.
 Ever so slowly... and we waited.
And then all was well.

"susies" are a common term for the hen duck

8 comments:

Rohrerbot said...

I never knew that they could totally hide their foot like that. I know they brought it up but it's interesting that they can keep it warm like that:)

Pat Tillett said...

I knew they could hide their feet (one at a time), but NEVER knew about the Susie thing!

Elaine said...

Love it! Very nice series of shots and building of suspense.

Kathy said...

Oh, thank goodness. I was beginning to get worried!
P.S. Is a susie a female mallard? Maybe you can tell I know little to nothing about ducks, although I seem to be taking lots of pictures of them lately.

Jo's World said...

This is my second try at this!
You photo'd a very sweet photo essay, Bren.

I have never heard of mallard hens being called Susies either. Donkey femmes are called Jennies. Wrens are too.

Cheers and hugs,

Jo

How Sam Sees It said...

LOL - too funny! I bet the railing was cold!

Sam

Anonymous said...

Guess birds do this the same reason horses nap on three legs (well, almost, they do).

I am really, really fond of that last photo.

Banjo52 said...

But what is the reason? To warm one foot at a time? I feel as if I knew the answer once upon a time.