Momma Wood Duck With 17 Ducklings
Jun 19, 2017 19:30:07 #
I'm pretty sure she has taken over care of another ducks babies. Maybe something happened to the other mom or for some reason they were abandoned. Thank you for looking and for your nice comments !
Jun 19, 2017 19:31:25 #
Thomas H. wrote:
I'm pretty sure she has taken over care of another ducks babies. Maybe something happened to the other mom or for some reason they were abandoned. Thank you for looking and for your nice comments !
Let's try again.......
Fixed it !
Jun 19, 2017 19:33:22 #
Jun 19, 2017 19:44:21 #
Worth the wait!! Fantastic capture and kudos to that mom for taking care of all those little ones!!
Thanks for sharing, this is a sight you don't see every day!
Thanks for sharing, this is a sight you don't see every day!
Jun 19, 2017 20:33:33 #
Jun 19, 2017 21:04:59 #
Thomas H. wrote:
I'm pretty sure she has taken over care of another ducks babies. Maybe something happened to the other mom or for some reason they were abandoned. Thank you for looking and for your nice comments !
Wood ducks will often lay eggs in the nest of another dominant hen in their flock. Esp older hens or very young ones who lay small numbers (average wood duck clutch is 10-12). She will then hatch and raise them as one brood. 20 or more is fairly common
Jun 19, 2017 22:40:35 #
robertjerl wrote:
Wood ducks will often lay eggs in the nest of another dominant hen in their flock. Esp older hens or very young ones who lay small numbers (average wood duck clutch is 10-12). She will then hatch and raise them as one brood. 20 or more is fairly common
Thank you for educating me ! I enjoy adding these facts to my knowledge base !
Jun 20, 2017 05:47:45 #
Thomas H. wrote:
I'm pretty sure she has taken over care of another ducks babies. Maybe something happened to the other mom or for some reason they were abandoned. Thank you for looking and for your nice comments !
Excellent capture Thomas.
Jun 20, 2017 07:21:46 #
Really nice shoot. When we lived in Annapolis, we would often see a raft of ducklings although smaller than this. Then, day by day the number would dwindle - I think turtles were the main culprits. In Tucson it was the same sad phenomenon for quail - the culprits were roadrunners, hawks and rattlers.
Jun 20, 2017 07:30:56 #
Jun 20, 2017 10:03:00 #
Great shot.
Thomas H. wrote:
I'm pretty sure she has taken over care of another ducks babies. Maybe something happened to the other mom or for some reason they were abandoned. Thank you for looking and for your nice comments !
Jun 20, 2017 14:43:19 #
robertjerl wrote:
Wood ducks will often lay eggs in the nest of another dominant hen in their flock. Esp older hens or very young ones who lay small numbers (average wood duck clutch is 10-12). She will then hatch and raise them as one brood. 20 or more is fairly common
Thanks for the nature lesson - but 17 is still a large number of kids to have following you around.
Jun 20, 2017 17:06:18 #
AuntieM wrote:
Thanks for the nature lesson - but 17 is still a large number of kids to have following you around.
Retired classroom teacher here grades 6-12 at one time or another. Try as many as 42 Jr High Age.
Volunteered for a 7th grade field trip to the LA Natural History Museum once, two large bus loads with only one adult for each 10 kids. Refused to even listen when they would ask for field trip volunteers after that. We lost one of the younger teachers and 2 kids, found them together in the science section playing with magnets!!!
Jun 20, 2017 17:44:14 #
Oh, my goodness. What a shot! Bet she is ready to hide in the reeds at the end of a day!
Jun 20, 2017 17:53:10 #
That may be the most "catch-lights" I have ever seen! :-) Great photo and awesome subject!
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