For the past several years we have had a pair of ducks that find our way into our neighborhood... sometimes several males and a lone female. We don't have a pond nearby, so their presence seems a little odd. Our commons does have a low spot where water accumulates a few inches deep during the spring rains when the ground can't absorb a lot of moisture. Perhaps that and the absence of anyone or anything disturbing them is all they need.
I did find a large portion of a duck's egg shell near our front door yesterday which makes me guess they are building a nest somewhere around the house. The photo above was taken just a brief moment after I noticed the male walking up to our front door.
Among the other wildlife we've had around the house: deer, groundhogs, skunks, squirrels, foxes, possibly a coyote, a hawk that flew into our screened porch presumably chasing a squirrel or chipmunk, and many different types of birds... including flocks of geese that love the commons area in spring and fall. Last week as I was driving on an expressway just a couple of miles from our place, I saw a field full of deer enjoying the spring grass at dusk... on a soccer field.
There are many who want you to believe that humans are creating a wasteland for the rest of nature. Yet, I see evidence that many species are thriving all around us. Maybe it is just the lack of CO2 in our locale... which obviously saves them from heat exposure.
The EPA should check us out...