Sunday ducks

It’s Sunday: time for a duck report.  The babies can’t be called “ducklings” any longer as they’re nearly the size of Esther!

These video and photos were taken on two days: June 16, and 17, so I’m a bit behind schedule.  But I have photos and videos taken since then, and eventually all will be posted. Yesterday’s zoomies, for instance, show that the ducklings flap their growing wings while scuttling across the pond, and even were able to take off a bit, like a Wright Brothers plane. Soon they’ll be airborne, and I’ll be a proud parent.

First, though, here’s Esther, a fantastic duck mom. Below she’s flapping her wings and cleaning herself in the pond,

And a video of her ablutions. You can hear her quack: Esther’s voice! And remember, only female ducks (“hens”) can make the classic duck quack. Males (“drakes”) make a low sound that is not very quack-like:

Esther playing flamingo by standing on one leg:

Two more of Esther quacking and preening on The Rock, a flat rock in the middle of the pond where the ducks like to stand. First, she quacks:

Then she shakes herself dry (below). The blue feathers with white edges are called the duck’s speculum.  Both males and females have the ornamentation, and I don’t think we understand why it evolved.  My own view is that it helps ducks recognize other members of their species, and that’s what the Wingtrip site says, too:

So why have a speculum? Obviously being flashy in coloration is important to ducks, otherwise it wouldn’t be such a prominent, genus-wide trait. Both sexes have sepeculums, which could lead us to believe that this color wasn’t generated by sexual selection. And this would be a decent assumption, as it’s broadly accepted that speculums are there for signaling between birds in the air, aiding in important flocking behavior.

Birders and ornithologists know we don’t usually see Anas ducks on their own. Just think about it yourself, how often do you see a lone Mallard? Infrequently, as they are usually paired up, raising ducklings, or in flocks. These gregarious birds need to keep track of each other for a variety of reasons. Safety in numbers (and in homogeneity of flocks) during movements being paramount, the speculum is likely the ticket (along with vocalizations of course). In air it’s out there, flashing reflections all over the place for all to see. On the ground it’s tucked away, allowing mothers to stay hidden on nests and studly males to not be too conspicuous.

That sounds about right to me.

When you hang around ducks you realize that they really are beautiful, with the males all decked out by sexual selection with green heads, yellow bills, and white neck rings, while the females, who must be cryptic on the nest and when shepherding their ducklings, are mottled brown, blending perfectly with the ground and foliage when they’re on land. And there are, of course, those lovely speculums (specula?).  I still have a few speculum feathers from Honey, for mothers in the pond molt after their babies fly, losing all their feathers and growing new ones. (They lose them gradually as they grow new ones, so they don’t go bald!) Feathers are crucial, but also subject to a lot of wear and tear in the air and water, and so a new set is regrown each year.

The ducklings always play around after lunch and dinner, but are more quiescent at breakfast. After playing (see below), they will preen in the water, and continue the preening as they repair to the pond ledge to sun themselves and dry out (below):

Here they are playing (if it is “playing”!).  I often wonder whether they enjoy this, or are driven by impulse to behave in ways that will be adaptive in the wild. Of course, if there is some sort of duck “fun,” then that would prompt them to do stuff like this, stuff that could help them take off from the water or escape predators. So let’s just assume they are enjoying this!

After eating, zooming, and preening, they often form a pile o’ ducklings, though this is less common when it’s hot (remember, they are wearing down jackets).  Below is one pile o’ ducklings. Notice that they like to stay close to their brothers and sisters. Esther, of course, is keeping watch over them, standing on the right side of the frame.

Pile o’ ducklings:

Yes, they look chubby, but they really aren’t.  They are just healthy and well fed, and their crops are full of duck pellets that they’ll digest later.

Zoomies! This is the best part of duck tending. They get all excited for reasons unknown, and this happens almost invariably after the afternoon meal.  Then they have drag races across the pond, or dunk themselves like donuts in coffee, or swim underwater. It all makes for a great show, and we have to tell people nearby to watch the ducks, as this happens spontaneously and is over quickly:

More diving, dunking, and zoomies. Be sure to watch at the end (starting about 1:30( when Esther kicks off the action by flying. I wonder if the ducklings zoom to imitate her. Notice how some of them flap their wings as they zoom:

Getting out of the pond for preening and napping:

Here’s a duckling about to take a nap. Notice that they have two coverings for their eyes.  His/her eyes are open in the first picture, but then covered by the nictitating membrane in the second. Shortly this duckling will close its eyes using the main eyelid and head to dreamland.

We of Team Duck always have all our ducks in a row. Note Esther, who always stands at the end to oversee the brood while they nap (she naps, too, but not as often):

And just to remind you: here’s the brood photographed on May 7, shortly after they first entered the water.  In only seven weeks they got to the size above. (Note that there were seven. One disappeared the first evening, but we’ve had six ever since.)