Ducklings!

This family with seven ducklings was swimming in the Avon/Otakaro river just west of the Madras Street bridge.  They’re the first I’ve seen.  It must be spring!

‘I always think it is good luck
to see a tiny baby duck.’

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Delayed Ducklings

Usually we see ducklings in September.  Now it’s almost November, and I hadn’t seen a single feather.  A friend told me yesterday she’d seen some around the Loop, so after breakfast at Little Pom’s, Stephen and I walked slowly around the river with our eyes peeled for ducks.

First we saw a family of nine stripey Paradise Ducklings:

Then a group of three newly hatched mallards, still with yolk on their faces (hard to see them in the iddle of the river):

A couple of adolescent ducks and their mother came to see whether we had brought breakfast for them:

Finally we found another small family beside the Barbadoes Street Bridge.  These ones were paddling furiously against the current:

Good to know there are new ducks around.  They don’t sit still to pose for photos, but they are a delight to behold, and I’ll be taking another walk soon to check on them.

“It’s such a lovely piece of luck
to contemplate a tiny duck.”

 

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Early Birds

I thought this duck was surrounded by sparrows, until I got closer and saw they were actually ducklings.

It’s too early for them surely?  Will they survive the winter?  Will their Mum cover them with frost cloth?

“I do not think that it is lucky
to be an early May-born ducky.”

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Faith with Feathers

“Hope is the thing with feathers” by Emily Dickinson  is a poem I often think of when I see ducklings.  They are such an endearing symbol of renewal.  This poem is often found in anthologies of readings suitable for weddings, yet I’ve never been asked to include it in a ceremony.

Yesterday I saw ten brand new ducklings down by Sunset Corner.

Today there were seven Paradise ducklings at the Margaret Mahy Playground.

All uplifting symbols of hope and regeneration.

“A duckling is the sweetest thing
and sure to make any soul sing.”

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Darling Ducklings

Three stripey paradise ducklings were grazing on the riverbank when I walked through the Margaret Mahy Playgound today.

Paradise ducklings are just the cutest.  I hope these ones survive.  Their mother was keeping a close eye on them, but no sign of father.

“They look so sweet with feathered stripes
different from the plain mallard types.”

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Spring Sights

A mother duck was swimming beside The Terraces this morning with eight new ducklings.

Duck family

The eels were nearby, and mother duck was doing her best to keep the family away from them.

Eel family

I doubt that there’ll still be eight ducklings tomorrow.  On the other side of the river two scaupe were sleeping in the sunshine.

Sleepy scaupe

“A lovely warm and sunny day
means summer’s surely on the way.”

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Darling Ducklings

There are ducklings in the Botanic Gardens.

Ducklings in the Gardens

It seems too early, but these birds are quite big, so maybe they’ll survive the winter.  Did you know that a group of ducks can be called a raft, a team, or a paddling?  A duck’s feathers are so waterproof that even when a duck dives underwater, its downy underlayer of feathers will stay completely dry.  Very few ducks actually “quack.” Instead, their calls may include squeaks, chirps, whistles, brays, and growls.

“It may not be a quack, that’s true,
when you hear a duck talk to you.”

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Sign of Spring

As we walked in Hagley Park this morning a duck and three ducklings scuttled across our path.

Ducklings

It seems early for these babies to be out and about.  I hope they’re tucked up warm and snug on frosty nights.

“The ducklings must be here to bring
an inkling of the coming spring.”

 

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