The ducks of Post Oak Boulevard have been through a lot this year. Not so long ago, these few dozen waterfowl were happily nesting in the bushes, raising their little duck families in the pond at Post Oak and Hidalgo, or enjoying the bread-crumb generosity of shoppers on their way to and from the Galleria or else the residents of nearby condominiums. Then the bulldozers came, agents of a new, slightly ominous-sounding planned development known as Boulevard Houston. The pond is intact, but the widening of Post Oak has drastically cut down the size of their habitat; on the street side, the once-sizable lawn surrounding the pond has been reduced to a grassy strip hugging the curb. Still, the ducks endure. They can be found enjoying the shade of the bushes hugging the Loop 610 embankment, defending what little grass they've got left or, after a good rain, enjoying a drink in the puddles of the half-finished road. When the boulevard is finally finished, these ducks deserve an acre or two of thanks.