Babies!

Today there were lots of babies! The first that we saw out on the Santa Ana River Trail were the 3 surviving ducklings that I mentioned in my last post. Still OK, but farther downstream than before.

Then we saw these, a mama wood duck (or maybe Mandarin?) with 13 ducklings. She was keeping them very close, and moved them from the near shore of the river to the far side when we appeared. This was the best picture we got, and I can't tell whether the eye-stripe is long, like a Mandarin, or short, like a Woodie. OC Birder Girl has an excellent post here about identifying the females of the two species, with lots of cross-references. I hope I'll see the family again and be able to study them more closely.

Then we came upon this Mallard family. They were in a particularly fast-moving part of the river, and mama was hustling them right along. It's so cute to see the ducklings run over the surface of the water when they need to hurry! They disappeared down a branch of the stream, and I don't expect we'll see them again.

After we left the river, we didn't see any more little ones. Then, as we were leaving, I finally spotted some Egyptians, and thought I saw some babies around their feet. We detoured to their side of the pond, and found Mama, Papa, and five new goslings! The light was harsh by then, and Mama was keeping them close, so it was hard to get good pictures. Her honks weren't quite the "look out for the dog" call that brings them crowding in, but definitely meant "don't get so far away."

Congratulations, everybody, on your new babies! Here's hoping that they live long and prosper!