Make Way For Ducklings
July 25, 2018 9:30 AM   Subscribe

Mama Merganser is raising 76 ducklings on a lake in Minnesota. Photos by Brent Cizek.
posted by jeather (17 comments total) 21 users marked this as a favorite
 
Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, Quack, that's all I've got, my childhood did not prepare me for this.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 9:35 AM on July 25, 2018 [13 favorites]


This is on Lake Bemidji, I see.

My parents are on Lake Vermilion, and there's a family of ducks there that starts ever year with a crowd of babies...but the muskies slowly pick them off one by one, and only a couple make it to full size. I saw the a couple weeks back, and I think they had maybe five left. Maybe they should ship their ducklings down to this merganser!
posted by wenestvedt at 9:40 AM on July 25, 2018 [1 favorite]


This is the high quality shit I'm on MetaFilter for. Awww yeah!!
posted by Fizz at 9:52 AM on July 25, 2018 [8 favorites]


Duck, duck, duck, grey duck ...
posted by nathan_teske at 10:09 AM on July 25, 2018 [15 favorites]


Ducks don't count - until they see the bill.
posted by Mogur at 10:10 AM on July 25, 2018


Seventy-six ducklings led the big parade/with a hundred and ten mergansers close at haaaaand...
posted by castlebravo at 10:21 AM on July 25, 2018 [12 favorites]


JohnnyWallflower is going to be so pissed he didn't make this post. ;-)
posted by Fizz at 10:24 AM on July 25, 2018 [4 favorites]


TYPICAL!

WHERE ARE THE FATHERS???!!!!
posted by Kibbutz at 10:48 AM on July 25, 2018 [3 favorites]


We regret to inform you the duck is racist
posted by paper chromatographologist at 10:49 AM on July 25, 2018 [5 favorites]


Tiffany, Heather, Cody, Dylan, Dermot, Jordan, Taylor, Brittany, Wesley, Rumer, Scout, Cassidy, Zoe, Chloe, Max, Hunter, Kendall, Caitlin, Noah, Sasha, Morgan, Kyra, Ian, Lauren, Cubert, and Phil...
posted by graventy at 11:42 AM on July 25, 2018 [5 favorites]


Tiffany, Heather, Cody, Dylan, Dermot, Jordan, Taylor, Brittany, Wesley, Rumer, Scout, Cassidy, Zoe, Chloe, Max, Hunter, Kendall, Caitlin, Noah, Sasha, Morgan, Kyra, Ian, Lauren, Cubert, and Phil...

Michaella, Mikaylah, M'kela, Mikayla, Micaela, Micaela, Michalina, Michela, Mikaela, Miykhaela....

Mckenzie, Mackenzi, Mackenzee, Mackinzie, Mackensie, Mackenize, Mackinzy, Mackinsey, Mackenzy, Mackenzey, Machenzie, Mackynzi, Mackinze, Mackenziee, Mackanzie, Macinzee, Machkenzi....
posted by wenestvedt at 12:15 PM on July 25, 2018 [1 favorite]


They're all good ducks, Brent.
posted by Young Kullervo at 12:36 PM on July 25, 2018 [7 favorites]


Whoa, I just reserved a pontoon for that exact lake in 10 days. I will keep an eye out for Mega-Merga-Mom.
posted by mcstayinskool at 1:31 PM on July 25, 2018 [4 favorites]


You know, I think this explains something I saw the other evening..

I had gone for a walk around a local lake and observed a medium-sized flock of waterfowl moving from one part of the lake to another. Instead of taking flight and rising above the lake to relocate, however, they barely rose above the surface of the water. It's not unusual to see ducks and duck-like birds scoot in this fashion for short distances but this group moved much further than I have previously seen in such a fashion. At the time I thought it very unusual, as I am not used to seeing them behave that way, and they did it several times. I wondered if perhaps it was a different type of waterfowl than I am used to but it's not migration season currently and they otherwise looked familiar (though as they were out towards the middle of the lake it was hard to be sure..)

Now I wonder whether a significant fraction of the group was composed this year's chicks, who are still learning to take off and fly.. It didn't occur to me at the time but it would totally explain the behavior I observed.
posted by Nerd of the North at 3:30 PM on July 25, 2018


I will be nice and not repeat to you what one frightening guy told me about situations like this and how they come about with so many missing mama ducks.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:01 PM on July 25, 2018


There's a lot of ducks where I live ... and I'll just say it's kind of a bad idea to count how many ducklings are following a particular mother duck, because next time you seem them that number is almost certainly going to go down.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 11:40 PM on July 25, 2018 [1 favorite]


...how they come about with so many missing mama ducks.

I will prefer to believe the happier idea in the NYT article, Mama Merganser the daycare mama:

Some birds, including common mergansers and ostriches, raise their babies in a day care system that’s called a crèche, experts say.

In a crèche, females leave their ducklings in the care of one female — often an older female who is experienced at raising babies[...]

The females at Lake Bemidji, many of which are related, lay eggs that hatch around the same time, he said. Afterward, he said, the adult ducks go off to molt their feathers, leaving their broods in the care of a matriarchal female.[...]

While the practice is common for this species, Mr. Rave said, the size of the crèche in the photo is exceptional. “That’s a lot,” he said. “I’ve seen crèches up to 35 and 50 often, but 70 — that would be a very big crèche.”

posted by Gordafarin at 2:21 AM on July 26, 2018


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