Wood Duck Ducklings

One of the most colourful ducks in Alberta, and probably the cutest ducklings! On my walk at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary I saw two hens; one with six-ducklings and one with ten. These good size ducks nest in trees (I have yet to see one fly into its nest) and when the ducklings hatch, they leave the nest and bounce when they hit the ground. At that time it is good to be light and fluffy. The website allaboutbirds.org states that the ducklings can fall as far as 50 feet without hurting themselves. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/640, f/14. May 31, 2023, 9:55am.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/400, f/14. May 31, 2023, 9:05am.

The hens were very cautious and stayed at the other side of the pond.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/500, f/18. May 31, 2023, 9:55am.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 456mm, ISO 2500, 1/320, f/14. May 31, 2023, 8:55am.

Just in case you think the duck doesn't know you are there...

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/800, f/14. May 31, 2023, 8:55am.

Here is one of the males. They were off by themselves.  Apparently not being involved in the rearing process can be pretty tiring.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/1000, f/18. May 31, 2023, 10:00am.