Oy, how the ducklings have grown! Remember, today has been only 40 days since they hatched on May 6. In all respects save their inability to fly, they are slightly small adults, though they still hang together as the Brood of Six. Here are some photos and videos taken over the last two weeks.
The pictures and videos below are presented chronologically, and were taken on four days: June 1, 5, 7, and 11. You can see the change in the ducklings over a period of only ten days: they’ve lost most of their fuzz and are mostly feathered, and their wings are getting larger.
Mother Esther, June 1:
More “babies”, if they can be called that. Esther stands on a plant pot and watches her offspring:
On June 1 the ducklings were growing feathers, most notably on their wings.
A video of ducklings leaving the water on June 1 for a postprandial grooming session and then a nap. They are able to leave the water and jump on the pond edge very easily now.
More preening on the same day:
And, after preening, they often form a clump o’ ducklings, keeping warm and together. Esther, as you see, is always nearby. They’re also nibbling at the grass:
A single duckling giving itself a thorough cleaning.
By June 6, the ducklings had developed more extensive feathering, especially on their breasts. They look to me like little dinosaurs, which of course they are:
And they look quite plump after feeding, often with their craws hanging over the edge of the pond. We call these “Dali ducks”. But they are not fat.
The babies dunking themselves on June 6:
Father Mordecai, who hasn’t been around for a few days:
After dining, swimming, diving, and preening, the ducklings plop themselves down for a nap. I love the plopping:
On June 7 we had a bout of postprandial zooming:
Esther the Queen:
Esther always does thorough ablutions, for as mom, she has to be in good condition. (Soon she’ll molt and gradually lose her feathers, replacing them with shiny new ones. This process is gradual so she is not of course bald!)
Meanwhile, Mordecai, when he was there, would drive other ducks out of the pond. Here he subtly but insistently forces Haman the Evil Duck out of the pond:
By June 11 the ducklings had gotten almost all of their feathers, but their wing feathers are small and they can’t yet fly. They’re also a bit smaller than Esther, but not by very much. Here’s one sunning on a rock:
Duckling ablutions:
Dabbling. They seem to get some food from the pond, and I’ve seen them slurping down algae. Here they all seem to have homed in one one area:
Homing as Esther watches:
A big-time case of the zoomies:
A duckling. It’s now hard to tell them from mother, and at a distance you have to concentrate on color (Esther is lighter) rather than on size. There’s just a bit of fuzz near the tail, but otherwise they are fully feathered. I predict they’ll be flying in two weeks.
As a reminder, here are two of them the day they hit the water: May 7:
Here I am hand-feeding a stray hen, who we call “Hoover” because she comes right up to us when we’re sitting and cleans up all the duck food spilled on the ground at feeding time. I felt sorry for her and gave her a handful of food, which she quickly grabbed, one pellet at a time. I don’t really want to feed her, but when a duck looks straight at you with their beautiful faces and liquid eyes, it’s hard to resist. I am not feeding these stray ducks much at all, and they are often gone (eating elsewhere, I hope). Photo by Elsie Holzwarth:
Good job, Mordecai. Off with you Haman!
Ah, wonderful – I think the pond renovation really shines in these photos – so fresh – I hope that, functionally and specifically mallard-wise, it is still good.
Yet again the duck photos and videos granting me a huge smile. I even told several of the photos right out loud how adorable they were.
Great pix and vids. When do the males develop the colour?
During the winter when they are not around. If they migrate, it will be when they are in the South.
I wonder if Mordecai will make a cameo appearance on Fathers Day.
nope!
It is wonderful to see the ducklings developing in such a safe and beautiful location. Thank you PCC for the updates and the excellent videos and photos.
+1
My wife and I love your duck reports, Jerry!
I got a kick out of that last duckling to finally hop out of the pond — just had to paddle around a bit longer and then misses the ledge on its first try. The rebel. It really is something how quickly they go from handfuls of fuzz to nearly flying. Amazing. I’d love to have them just outside my office window. You can’t get depressed with 6 ducklings so close by. Thanks for all the photos and videos. Brightens my day.
Thanks for the great series of duck pictures. When I was a kid on the farm …. We had ducks walk up from the ponds to salvage the corn fallen out of the corn crib. And we had “banties” which are halfsized chickens and cute (although the males could really make a mess of your ankles with their spurs if they felt trapped. We also had a constantly changing cat population none of whom bothered the chickens.
Snakes (up to 6 feet long), lizards, frogs (bull) turtles. And more. It was a zoo. And great fun.
Lovely photos. All hail Queen Esther!
Though these dear ducks are very colorful, my mind went to this song “White Bird” from The Incredible String Band in 1969.
https://youtu.be/RRwXUE-XLcs?si=Z6oUa0DbQ_QNZIJv
I saw such a sad sight yesterday, at the roadside into town. This rod has a deep ditch on one side and a few days earlier I had spotted a pair of mallards enjoying the water in the ditch after heavy rain. Well, yesterday, the drake was standing over his dead hen at the side of the road. No doubt she had been hit by a vehicle. Poor fellow looked quite lost. If they had discovered my pond they would have been safe.
On arrival at my destination I saw a large earthworm heading off across the parking lot to a certain dry death. So, feeling sorry for the duck, I picked it up and carried it to the grassy verge. One earthworm ≠ one duck, but that’s human psychology for you.