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Mr Really-quite-angry-and emotional from North Boston writes....
As I approached the 'T' junction in the village today I saw a single male Mallard waddling along the kerbside of the priority road ahead - my brain was already telling me to prepare to give the bird plenty of time to leave the junction way before I had even crawled to a stop, then WHAM, middle aged lady in people carrier (mobile phone up to her ear) came from nowhere and poor 'ol Mallard bowled out from under the car in a ball of fluff, the impact carried the poor bird some 10metres off to the long grass in the verge where it lay motionless, a dozen or so feathers slowly drifted back to ground at impact point.
I was gobsmacked - the people carrier pulled up a short way down the road, the woman got out and proceeded to inspect her car for damage, not a care for the welfare of the bird. I saw RED - I pulled over to the verge, got out of the car, glanced at Mallard (still motionless, I feared the worse) and decided to challenge the woman...
"Why did you have to go and do that?" I said
"What?" she said
"Run that poor Mallard over!" I bellowed (expletives edited out..)
"Nothing I could do about it" she exclaimed (continuing to examine her car)
"How about reducing your speed, shoving that mobile where the sun don't shine and using your hands to do what they were meant for, turning the steering wheel" I said (again, expletives edited out)
She looked at me, raised her eyebrows, "who cares, it's just a bird" she said, got back into her car and sped off.
Time to check out the Mallard but he had gone - as I approached the bank of the dyke where he last lay I could see and hear the grass rustling - darn I thought, not dead but likely to be mortaly injured, not good. I crept closer, heard a small splash and hey-presto - one rather ruffled Mallard appeared from under the bank and slowly swam to mid-stream - he was clicking and grunting (mostly at me), pushed his body out of the water and gave his wings several hard beats, shook his head several times then paddled away upstream. He kept one eye on me, I kept both eyes on him 'till he was well out of sight.
I think (and hope) that this bird is one survivor! Although still shocked I managed a smile, maybe in 20 years time that Mallard will still be dicing with death, but with all probability the people carrier will be just another rust bucket!
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