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YOUNG BIRD
A mother duck and her eight little ones.
I had taken these ducks pictures when visiting at a cottage on Skiff Lake in New Brunswick, Canada.
Mother Duck is proud of her babies.
At first there were eight but now only five ducklings left.
Unfortunately the mother duck cannot protect her babies against everything. There are predators when they come on land as well as in the water.
Ducks are delicate birds and can die from lack of food, extreme changes in the weather, such as, cold, rainy, hail or above average temperatures. They are open target on the water with the birds of prey around. There are hawks, eagles, owls ready to make a meal of a little duckling. Even a male duck will try to kill ducklings that are not his own.
Mother Duck circled around the perimeter of the lake each evening, proudly displaying her babies. As she went by the cottage with her little troop it was sad to see something was taking her babies. The last night I was there she had only four left.
I was told there were three left at the end. Hopefully they survived and I will see more black ducks and their ducklings on the lake the next time I visit the area.
Facts about the Black Duck;
The American black duck is a large dabbling duck in the family Anatidae. It was described by William Brewster in 1902. It is the heaviest species in the genus Anas, weighing 720–1,640 g on average and measuring 54–59 cm in length with a 88–95 cm wingspan. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Anas rubripes
Family: Anatidae
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Source
All photos are taken by me
All Rights Reserved unless with my permission
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