Ducklings - Just hatching near you

One of the great treats spring has to offer is the chance to see all the young animals and birds, born at this time of year. Young Rabbits sitting at the edge of fields. Broken egg shells on the ground, telling us that the Starlings, nesting in the eves of a nearby house have chicks.

If you want to photograph these new arrivals our best advice is don’t. But if you really must be very careful, it is very easy to scare away the adult birds; the damage you may cause is not worth the pictures. Bear in mind that for some species of birds photographing them at or near the nest requires a special licence.

One reasonably safe subject which has that cute factor is ducklings. Now is the time of year to see ducks like Mallards with 8 or more bundles of fluff scooting around your local pond or stream.


Mallard Duckling

Find yourself a good spot get as low to the water as possible and sit and wait. One word of caution, ducklings are not waterproof. Every now and then they need to leave the water to dry our and warm up. Very often the female will brood the ducklings beneath her. This makes a great photograph but please be careful not to disturb the female she will return to the water for safety. If she is disturbed too many times the ducklings get weaker due to being in cold water too long.

Until next time