Occasionally (very occasionally) I can’t resist the cuteness of a duckling and post it to my blog. It hasn’t happened for a long while now but this little “guy” put me over the edge.
1/250, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
I photographed the young duck on June 29 on Red Rock Creek at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in southwest Montana. Its mother and a few of its siblings were swimming near a bridge as I passed over it. I base my ID on the appearance of the adult female and photos taken by others of Northern Shoveler ducklings. Since I often struggle with identifying female ducks I can’t be 100% certain that my ID is correct but I’m pretty sure that it is.
The devotion of female shovelers to their eggs and young is impressive. In studies, 90% of shoveler remains found in predatory mammal dens during nesting season are females, which suggests that they were attempting to protect their nest or offspring (only the female incubates and cares for young). Interestingly, females often deliberately defecate on their eggs when the nest is threatened which prevents at least some mammalian predators from eating the eggs. I always marvel at these types of behaviors and wonder just how they evolved.
In this image I like the eye contact, the film of water on the breast and the water droplets along the back that almost seem to be floating in air. And then there’s that cuteness factor…
Ron
I lkie the “smile”…that is one happy looking duckling!
He has all the eagerness of youth written all over him.As to the ID of the mother, usually the shape of the bill will give it away.
Thank you for the thoughtful comments, everyone. Life caught up with me and I’ve been behind the 8-ball all day so I haven’t been able to respond to comments individually like I usually do. I apologize for that. I do appreciate your comments!
Awww. And the fuzzy halo just adds to the cuteness. I am always awed at just how many ducklings a mother can successfully raise. Such very, very hard work.
What a cutie. I agree, everything about the pic is real nice.
Amazing background on the mothering instinct. And yes, he is adorable.
Everything about this photo has the cuteness factor. Love it. Such a cute duckling. Such a great shot.
Adorable, love the reflection! PERFECTION!
Charlotte
Hi Ron,
This is a delightful photograph to start the week with! I agree – this is one cute duckling, and a great photo. Here’s to the female shoveler ducks who attend to their young with such ferocious dedication!
Thanks, Alison. Yup, cheers to all those devoted mother ducks out there!