he cold weather of the last weeks has had a surprising result.4000 Russian red-necked ducks have? 16? in Britain where the weather, just below freezing, is like spring to them.
The Russian red-necked ducks manage perfectly well at temperature down to 30 degrees? 17? zero. They wouldn’t think of? 18 home at minus 40. But, as the cold gets colder, they make a quick ? 19 to take off together all with a single thought? 20? : “Go somewhere ? 21? .”
Last Tuesday the small? 22 near my house was invaded by above three hundred Russian red-necked ducks, a noisy lot, though I must say they were not troublesome. Our local birds were at first quite 23 by these 24 from far away, and there were some obvious language difficulties too.
At 9 I went down? 25? to the edge of the lake, with a little bread and milk? 26? our own birds. I saw them standing about,? 27? the foreigners to eat up everything. But my worry proved? 28? ; The red-necked birds didn’t like the bread at all. Many of them ? 29 a mouthful, and threw up. In fact they pushed and fought to get away from the food, ? 30 own birds looked at them 31? .
My wife had? 32? me down the path with a hopeless cake she had made on Monday evening. She had forgotten to turn off the electricity in time, and the cake got? 33? . Now, funnily enough, the Russian birds? 34? it, though our birds wouldn’t touch it. We realized then the visitors were used to? 35? bread probably, and my wife agreed to make some for them.