Posted on 07/26/2018 7:05:43 AM PDT by EdnaMode
A mama duck in Minnesota has captured hearts across the nation after a Bemidji photographer snapped an image of her leading an astonishing 76 ducklings across a lake.
Amateur wildlife photographer Brent Cizek noticed the exceptional common merganser, which he now calls Mama Merganser, late last month during a photo session on Lake Bemidji
Brent Cizek @brentcizekphoto I'm so proud of Mama Merganser. ❤️
While it’s not uncommon to see a troupe of 20 or so ducklings lining up behind a single hen, 76 of them is another story.
“It was mind blowing,” Cizek told The New York Times. “I didn’t know a duck could care for that many chicks.”
An earlier photo of the same bird was featured by the National Audubon Society, in a July 13 story that explained that ducks sometimes put their eggs in others’ nests and that separated duckling sometimes cling to ducks that look like their mothers.
Still, it’s not quite sure how Mama Merganser amassed such an impressive brood.
“Everybody keeps saying, ‘Mom of the Year,’” Cizek told the newspaper.
A typical common merganser usually has a small flock of about 10 ducklings. The species is found in all season near lakes in parts of northern Minnesota.
That was the intent! :-) (ducking)
:-)
“You mean plural, haha.”
Yep...I wouldn’t doubt that.
Ah...when Yoda see it, Captain Obvious already seen it he has.
Waddle we pun next?
He’ll foot the bill online...on the web.
Another duck must have egged him on.
We have a hen Turkey that chased a chicken off her nest and hatched out the 12 chicken chicks. 2 days later another one of yard hens went missing which left her 12 chicks orphaned. We placed them with Henny and she raised all 24. Problem with turkeys is they don’t scratch and peck so the chicks has figure that out. But Henny was quite the protector and always stood over them.
One would think that such puns would just roll off out backs.
That’s just Daffy.
I put up a pair of duck boxes on two beech trees about 70 feet apart, overlooking Prior Lake when we lived in Minnesota. In early March, we observed a lady wood duck standing on top of one while scrutinizing the other box. Back and forth she went a couple of times, finally settling on the left side box.
Other females joined her briefly in the same box, apparently donating the eggs they carried.
In mid April, we saw mom duck fly down and give several peeps, bringing a total of 17 baby ducklings flapping down to the top of the hillside. All were identical but some were hers and others likely adopted. Some landed on their heads but none seemed harmed in the process.
A couple more peeps and the duckies lined up and followed mom down to the waterfront.
It’s kind of neat when you think about what all these behaviors suggest about the power of the mothering/nurturing instinct.
That’s definitely an uncommon merganser, there.
bravo
That’s interesting. Before I clicked on it I thought it was going to say the other mother[s] had simply ducked when the photo was taken. ;-)
Our barnyard hens won’t adopt orphans unless you can sneak them under her while she is still hatching out her own eggs.
Grafting is very hard unless you have a willing mom.
As for Henny, she just walked away from her own brood without a care in the world but it was her first batch. I guess the light came on and now she has no problem with motherhood. She will try to claim whatever chicks she can. She is currently nesting deep inside a huge, thick weed patch on the farm and we’re waiting for her to pop out with another brood anyday now.
Why Thank You!
Well, with the cow bird living off the insects picked off of herds of bison, there wasn’t time to fight for a territory, build a nest, incubate and raise chicks before the food source sought greener prairies... so just dropping eggs in a couple local bird’s nests along the way did the trick. The likelihood of the chick’s survival was higher with string of hosts, as there are some species of birds which can recognize an egg that’s not theirs and push it out, while others just aren’t that bright. They practice the adage “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
They seem to eat a variety of bugs; but they do stay out of forests and in the grasslands...
Boy! That gal sure got around the pond!
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