Time for some ducklings!

I have the great fortune that right next to the building where I work in, there are some interesting ponds with a great number of things to photograph. In particular, ducks are very common there.

I have learned quite a bit about ducks just from watching them each week. Several months ago, I noticed the ducks pairing together and suspected that eventually I would see some ducklings. I looked online and noted that the males usually leave the females when the eggs are laid. When I noticed that the males were no longer with the females, I suspected that ducklings would soon be there.

Sure enough, several weeks later there were ducklings!

I used my 100-400 to get these shots, combined with a fill flash. The mother was very cautious with the young ducks and it took me a bit of time before she would let me get close without feeling threatened. Still, she kept a sharp eye on me while I took these shots. In particular, I wish some of the plants weren’t there and I didn’t get the angles that I would have preferred, but I still think the shots show that the ducklings were indeed cute!

Interestingly, a bit later a crow came near the ducklings and the mother duck went straight at it. I later read online that crows will eat ducklings.

Other predators that will attack ducklings in our area include owls. Hopefully the majority of these cute ducklings made it.

CalevPhoto