Readers’ wildlife photos and videos

Today’s photos and videos come from reader/physicist/origami master Robert Lang in California. Robert’s captions are indented, and you can enlarge the two DUCK photographs by clicking on them.

The creek named Arroyo Seco runs from Red Box Saddle in the San Gabriel mountains down past the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), through western Altadena and Pasadena, and then on to Los Angeles, joining the Los Angeles river near downtown L.A.; the historic Pasadena Freeway (now State Highway 110) follows its channel much of the way. True to its name, it’s dry much of the year, but above JPL, it runs year-round, providing lush, verdant and shady hiking any time of year. Since the Eaton Fire resulted in the closure of much of the front range of the San Gabriels, the still open Arroyo Seco and its Gabrielino Trail have been my go-to spot for a quick, regular getaway.

It’s also been a regular source of wildlife sightings, some of which have made it to RWP (for example, here,  here, and here), but today I have an offering particularly near and dear to our host: ducklings and their momma!

This was at Brown Mountain Dam falls, which is about 3.5 miles up the trail from JPL. The dam was built in the 1940s, and quickly filled up its basin with sediment (there is now a forest of full-grown trees at the level of the top of the dam), but it provides a 40’ waterfall with a deep pool at the base and is a popular destination for bikers, hikers, and runners, especially on a hot day. Today, it had some unusual visitors: a momma mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and her seven ducklings, who followed her up the creekbed to the pool where they then proceeded to feed, play, and shower under the falls.

Brown Mountain Dam Falls:

Momma and ducklings, crossing the pool:

And two videos:

The family crossing the falls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOYWkssr7y4

Momma and the babies showering under the falls. (The babies seem less enthusiastic about the shower than momma.)