Make Way for Ducklings!

In mid-April I start scanning our local parks and ponds for signs of baby waterfowl.  Where I live, we're lucky to have two public parks within a mile of our house.  Besides having play structures and sports fields, both parks have created wetland areas for the local wildlife.  In addition to birds of all species, lots of ducks and geese hang out in both parks.  In the springtime, we always spot broods of baby ducks clustered around their mothers near the waterways.  I love to see the tiny, fluffy ducklings swimming after mama duck or trotting through the grass.

Hiding under mama duck

My hubby, who is still working from home, has established a daily routine of a lunchtime walk through our neighborhood.   For the past two weeks, he's spotted ducklings in the park on his daily walks.  However, when I later visit the same location, these babies are nowhere to be found.  (I've taken to nicknaming hubby the "duck whisperer.")

Fluffy cuteness

Last Monday was a particularly rainy day.  But hubby walks rain or shine, so he suited up in raingear and completed his daily neighborhood circuit.  Upon returning, my hubby excitedly told me he'd encountered another flock of ducklings and they'd walked right under his feet across the park pathway.

Taking her babies out for a swim

Well, I was tired of being skunked.  Rain or not, I decided to head over to the park immediately to see if I couldn't find those ducklings.  Not willing to walk with my big lens, I drove my car to the park.  From the parking lot it was a short walk to the path and pond, the location of hubby's most recent duckling encounter.

Just ducky!

At first I didn't see anything.  I thought, "Oh darn, I missed them again!"  But walking around the pond I spotted a lone female mallard sitting in the tall grass.  It was a mama duck alright, but where were her children?  Then I saw something yellow and fluffy moving underneath her feathers.  The ducklings were all huddled under their mother and she appeared to be either hiding her brood or shielding them from the rain.  Such an endearing sight!

The ducklings found something to eat

Mama duck and I stared at each other for quite some time.  I kept my distance and shot a few images with my zoom lens.  After a couple of minutes the mother mallard must've tired of my attention as she stood up and started towards the pond.  Seven adorable ducklings tumbled out from underneath their mother and dutifully followed her to the water.

Jockeying for the goodies

Once all seven were in the water, they formed a line behind mom and started swimming away.  Not willing to let my photo subjects get away so soon, I followed the duck brigade from shore, snatching photos when I could.  The mom kept swimming one direction, and then another trying to evade me.  At one point, all the ducklings clustered around some vegetation sticking up from the pond bottom.  There seemed to be something the little guys liked as they all were pecking around the area.  Fortunately it kept the ducklings in one place just long enough for me to get a few good images.

 

Adorable little fluff balls

After ten minutes, I could tell the mother duck was getting tired of eluding me (and my camera was getting really wet) so I decided to make my exit.  But happy day - I'd finally got to see some ducklings!

A nearby Golden-crowned sparrow

On the way back to my car I noticed many sparrows flitting around a nearby row of bushes.  The birds were so close, I couldn't resist a few shots of these pretty little birds.  Later, I realized the birds were mostly golden-crowned sparrows, identified by a striking yellow blaze across their heads. 

Yellow-rumped warbler in our backyard

Finally, in the backyard bird department, we've been seeing several eye-catching yellow and gray birds at our feeders.  The birds were so beautiful, I spent the better part of several hours trying to capture the perfect shot of one.  Consulting our bird book, we identified the little guys as yellow-rumped warblers. 

I've spotted a few goslings in a nearby park, so my next photographic goal is to capture some images of these fluffy, yellow little ones.  Coming (hopefully) soon!