Duck Family

Welcome to another edition of " Why Do They Do That?"

This mother duck chose to lay her eggs in a sunken stairway/walkway in the back of a local church. She also chose to lay them in a brick flower planter that was 3 feet up from the concrete walk.

The whole group of mom and 10 ducklings are hidden pretty good. But, when I walked by...I heard the little "peepers". It seems that 5 of them had found their way to the edge of the brick planter, and had either fell off or jumped. The old " interfere-with-nature" guy wanted to "herd" them up, and air-lift them back to mom. But, the new "let nature take its course" guy stepped back to watch the drama unfold.

Mom came out from the bush she was hiding behind. The 5 babies followed. Mom waddled down to the spot where the fallen babies were, and she, of course, had no trouble jumping 3 feet down, gently using her wings. But.....the babies wings have not yet been cleared for takeoff. Would they jump?

DRUMROLLLLL!!!!! LONGER DRUMROLLLLLLL!!!. Huey stepped up to the edge...glanced over the edge, looked back...then yelled "CANNONBALL", and jumped!! My heart stopped. I don't carry any medical supplies with me on my walks. All I could picture was two broken little legs, and me with no "duck tape".

The drama continued. Next in line was Louie. He jumped. Dewey was next, follwed by the two nameless twins. If I had to score ( and I don't), the mid-air form was marvelous... but none of the five could nail the landing. They did'nt land...they plopped down. I give them credit for their guts. If my heart was racing, then I know theirs were, too. I'm thankful that they are all OK. The "old" me would have had to take any injured ducklings home.

Back to the original question. "Why do they do that?" Mom now has to wait until the ducklings can "hop up" the stairs before they can vacate their birthing place. The whole family then has to cross a street to get to the river.

Last question. In the midst of the drama...Where's dad? I'll watch this group and see how long it takes them to pack up and move.