These Are MY Ducklings! You No Can Has!

The most fun news of the day, perhaps even of the week, is that I discovered the very first batch of ducklings at the duck pond on campus! In the mallard world, the mothers are the ones who take responsibility for raising and caring for the offspring. The fathers don't have much if anything to do with those tasks.

The mama duck in this photo clearly had her hands full. (Excuse me, her webbed feet.) There were about a dozen baby ducklings in all, none of them much bigger than a hefty bumblebee. I followed them around for a few minutes, snapping photos with my camera - I couldn't help myself! - and the mama was keeping a VERY close eye on me, as you can see. The ducklings themselves were traveling at lightning speeds, and as I tried to photograph them, a few photos turned out as nothing better than a duckling blur! Clearly, they have the need for speed!

The ducklings milled about, and it was very chaotic; they were almost obscenely cute. The mama was in charge of defending them from any threats and keeping them together, more or less. You can see most of the ducklings in this picture, but I think there may have been one or two more trying to escape off to the right. Kids! You try to keep them safe, and all they do is run this way and that!

The song to accompany this photo of a semi-controlled moment of absolute duckling mania is a tribute to all of the mamas out there. I dedicate it to both parents, in fact, as in many species, the papa also helps out quite a lot! Paul Simon, Loves Me Like a Rock, from 1975.