FAMILY'S HOME QUACKING UP; BACKYARD POND ATTRACTS DUCK BROOD.

Byline: John Huddy Daily News Staff Writer

Mother's Day came a little early for the Meichtry family in Simi Valley this year.

Two ducks decided to make the Meichtrys' back yard its home a while back. They made a nest. One of them laid her eggs and they hatched Tuesday.

The ducklings have caused quite a stir on the Meichtrys' home on Azure Drive.

Neighbors have brought their children to see the duck family in residence, and the Meichtrys' own children, Michaela, 3, Marissa, 5, and Ryan, 8, keep an eye on the backyard wild kingdom.

``Everybody's very excited,'' Bob Meichtry said. ``It's a neat experience for kids to see nature like this - we have over 20 kids under 13 years old in our neighborhood who come almost every day to say hello to the ducks.''

Wildlife phenomena is nothing new to the Meichtrys' property.

``Ducks have been coming to our back yard for years,'' Meichtry said. ``There's usually a male and a female who come and float around in our pool - but this is the first time that a family of ducks has made our back yard their home.''

Overgrown with flowers, bushes and various kinds of vegetation, the Meichtrys' yard also contains a natural black-bottomed rock pool resembling a pond.

``This is the third set of bird nests that we've had in our back yard,'' Meichtry explained. ``We have a dove nest outside of our kitchen. We've also had hummingbird nests here, too, but with the exception of the ducks, most of the birds don't stay.''

According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials, it is not against the law to have a family of ducks living in your back yard - but it is against the law to feed them or try and take them.

Wildlife officials say that the ducks, a species of mallard migrating common to this area, are naturally attracted to green spaces and water, like the Meichtrys' back yard - but people should try to shoo them away from their property when they want to nest.

The Meichtry family enjoys having the duck family in their back yard and wouldn't mind having them around a little longer - at least until the six ducklings are old enough to fly.

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1--2--Color) Above, a mother duck is surrounded by newborn ducklings in Simi Valley. At left, Ryan Meichtry, 8, and his sister, Marissa, 5, feed bread to the wild ducks that have adopted the family's pond.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News