Today, I watched from about a block away as a female Mallard led her brood of 14 hatchlings from a neighborhood yard, across the street to the pond.



When they got to the curb on the pond side Mama hopped up onto the sidewalk; right behind her the biggest duckling hopped up too. Soon one by one the rest of the flock struggled to jump onto a "cliff" that was way over their heads.

First two, three, four, five and six one by one, all the way to nine they managed to get over the curb.

The 7th fell backwards and flailed his tiny webbed feet in the air for several seconds until he was upright again.
The remaining five moved down the road hoping it seemed to find an easier path.
Mrs. Duck took the nine into the weeds for hiding but continued to call to her remaining babies.

The babies, all tuckered out had decided to sit down for a rest; they huddled in the middle of the street; as momma duck from the weeds called to them to get out of the road.



Soon a bicyclist came by and herded them off the street. What she didn't know is that she was driving them away from their mother and the five-some was now a two-some the three-some one group in the woods and one in a residential yard.



Interested in seeing how they would cope with the situation; I watched for over a half hour then finally decided to just continue my walk.
When I returned two hours later, eleven ducklings were swimming in the pond with their mother. Presumably the other three perished trying to reach the pack.
Linda Phillips
linda_phillips1252 at msn.com<mailto:linda_phillips1252 at msn.com>
Kenmore 98028-2616