Hi Nic
I felt myself to be fortunate to witness this. As the nest was entirely made of coarse grass it soon dried out and was recycled by worms in late summer.
I counted 7 young when I peeked inside whilst mother was feeding in the early days after their birth. They all left the nest but they tended to scatter throughout the garden at dusk so one rarely saw more than 2 or three in the same place. I would sit on the patio in the evening with a drink, and if I kept still it was not unusual for mother and/or hoglets to climb over my feet. As I left the door open one would enter the house and attack the carpet, I kept a pair of gardening gloves handy so I could pick it up and return it outdoors. They all dispersed quickly, as usual, though mother stayed put and hibernated under the garden shed. I would like to think that some survived their first winter.
I had one mother who did not build a nest but just took residence under what was then a small lilac bush. Knowing where to look, it was possible to see mother and young (about 4 if I can recall). I would check them out in the early evening on returning from work. The young were even then quite restless and vocal, though it was several hours before they would venture out for food.
Sometimes I have no idea where the nest is, as I do not hunt them out for fear of disturbing them. There are ample nesting sites in the garden, most of them difficult to get to for me.
The waterbirds from the local lake do cause concern amongst those people who live nearby and do not know their habits. They tend to think that they are lost and in need of rescue and have to be advised to leave them be, they have abetter sense of direction than us and they have moved away from the lake for a good reason. It gets very busy there at this time of year with summer visitors both human and avian.
BTW the three ducks in the village were two males and one female, all adult. I do not know what sort of relationship they were in. 😉
