Sleeping in is not an option at "Riverbend". And forget about the myth that, of all the sounds known to man, only a duck’s quack has some special sonic property that causes it not to echo.
Let me tell you, when our ducks start quacking in unison early in the morning as they demand to be fed, I can hear the cacophony of sound as it echoes right through my bedroom window. Which leaves me with no choice but to drop out of bed and into a pair of wellies, and sleepy-eyed stumble down to the horseshed (sans the horses) to feed them all.
The ones in the photo are my waker-uppers. Not being camera-shy, they follow me around all day and are joined, as soon as word (or quack) gets round that breakfast is being served, by an equal number of strays.
Believe me, that's a lot of quacks and they all echo remarkably well.
"Anatidae" is Greek for ducks, geese or swans, and "phobos" meaning fear
(but, of course, you already knew that)
