common_nature | Surprise Duckies!

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birds: duckling

Surprise Duckies!

I was heading out on an errand and came to a halt when I saw the following family making their way past our mailboxes. What caught my attention were the yellow babies since normally all the mallard ducklings are brown and yellow.

To my alarm the mother walked right out in the road as some cars were coming. However the babies crossed safely.

When I returned about half an hour later I kept an eye out for them. I spotted them sitting under a tree by the fence separating us from the (usually) cornfield next door.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh, cool!

It was definitely a "slam on the brakes, grab the phone" moment :)

What a lovely little family!

Baby ducks rank high on the adorable meter alright.

So adorable! How marvelous that you got those shots, and that the family found a safe and peaceful place to rest.

It was definitely a surprise to see them, particularly to see the mix of brown and yellow babies. I've never seen any yellow ones around here before.

Such adorable ducklings!

A very appropriate icon!

I wonder if those yellow ducklings are some domestic ones that the mother picked up along the way. Pekin ducklings have yellow feathers and orange feet, and I think the ones in your photo might have orange feet.

I never quite get over the hair-raising stunts of mother ducks leading their ducklings around. Cars are not really on their radar as a rule. It's amazing they get to grow up.

P.

It could be -- the odd thing is that I've never seen any ducks but mallards near us. Though obviously that doesn't mean there aren't any, but we've been here for some time without spotting any.

Yeah, unfortunately most don't. We've seen bunches of broods and then a week later there's 3 or 4 and then sometimes just one still with the mother. Between predators, people, and maybe even fish, they're often gone quickly :(

Many domestic ducks are descended from mallards, so maybe mallards occasionally have yellow babies. I don't have time to do good research, but a very quick glance over various websites suggests that this is the case. I was carried away by the romance of a wild mallard raising domestic ducklings. 8-)

As for the attrition, I've seen the same on repeated visits to state parks where ducks are raising their young, just fewer and fewer as time goes by. I guess that's why they lay so many eggs. But the whole "fuzzy babies should LIVE" feeling is very strong.

P.

That's really interesting, I didn't realize they were an ur-breed of duck!
I guess it could be a genetic variation then.

Yes, definitely, especially since ducklings are a form of baby that is incredibly active within hours of birth. The speed at which they can run and paddle is amazing.