New Residents in our Yard

This year seems to be the year of the birds. Our dear dog passed in January. I started feeding the birds about that time. It has not taken long for the birds to feel comfortable in our yard. ( not that the dog ever chased them). Over time we noticed nesting going on.
This nest is in the Yellow Jasmine and it is right on top of our fence. Its very well hidden.  It is home to two lovely Mourning Doves.

This nest is under some thick ground cover up against my neighbors garage. Imagine our surprise when we came home one day and found three mallards in our yard. We named them Ethel, Ricky, and Fred ( Lucy is missing!) The two drakes and hen showed up faithfully over a week and a half at about the same time. The hen would go off into the ground cover and lay her egg. Then they would leave. She is now sitting full time. My husband built a lean to and placed it over her because we are expecting some big wind and rains. ( We have our first tropical storm of the season off the coast)
It will be fun when the chicks hatch. And it will be very interesting to see how momma gets them to the water. The lake at the park is seven blocks away!