Eleven Tiny Ducklings Up From The Lake

Each year I look forward to catching a glimpse of the babies.  This particular crisp and cool morning I was gifted by a sighting ...my first for this year.  The ducklings are so small that at first I thought they were little birds, but then when I saw them all marching in a row behind the adults I instantly knew they were ducklings.  I grabbed my camera and carefully got as close as possible.  Because they are so small though they are a bit harder to see in the grass.

There are eleven in this group and since the ducks share baby sitting duty among their groups, no way of knowing how many (if any) belong to this pair.  There were actually a pair plus an additional drake (male) so Uncle Henry must have decided to tag along since there was such a large group to 'watch' today.

The ducklings are good about staying together and follow the adults without any visible prodding; however, there are always ...always a couple of ducklings that lag behind do'n their own thing.  Those are the little ones I worry most about.

I like the way Mr. Bird, on the left side of the photo, is watching in disbelief ...almost as if wondering what are these tiny squeaking creatures so near to his feeder.