Tag Archives: breeding grounds

Mallard hen with duckling

Sole survivor

By mid-July on the Rideau River this mallard hen has only one of her brood left. She will have started out with a brood of six to eight newly hatched ducklings in May-June, but ducklings fall prey to seagulls, snapping turtles and other predators very easily. Chances are the surviving duckling will not survive its first year of life. This is the reality in the natural world: 85% of the birds and animals born in spring do not last a year, but enough do last long enough to breed the following spring and perpetuate their species.

Photographed and posted by Geoffrey

Mallard hen with ducklings

Mallard ducklings

Hen mallard with a brood of newly hatched ducklings on the pond next to the Rideau River, June 20, 2013.

Photographed and posted by Geoffrey

Red-winged blackbird on her nest

Female red-winged blackbird on her nest in the reeds at the edge of a pond next to the Rideau River, May 18, 2013.

Photographed and posted by Geoffrey.

Red-winged blackbird nest

4 Replies

Red-winged blackbird nest

Red-winged blackbird nest in the cattails in a pond next to the Rideau River, May 2, 2013. I will keep an eye on this nest over the next several weeks, from a safe distance, to see how the blackbirds make out in their effort to raise a brood of chicks.

Photographed and posted by Geoffrey

Bufflehead

Hen buffleheads on the Rideau River, May 2, 2013.

Photographed and posted by Geoffrey

Red-winged blackbird

Female red-winged blackbird at the edge of a pond next to the Rideau River, April 30, 2013.

Photographed and posted by Geoffrey

Red wing blackbird

Male red-winged blackbird back from his winter sojourn in more southerly regions of North America, ready to find a mate, April 8, 2013.

Photographed and posted by Geoffrey

Drake mallard in breeding plumage.

Drake mallard getting ready for the spring nesting season 2013. He found his mate in the wintering grounds and followed her north to the marsh where she was hatched. This process ensures the gene pool is spread across the northern breeding grounds. He is not a particularly devoted husband and father. When his mate finishes laying her eggs and begins incubation, he happily takes his leave.

Photographed and posted by Geoffrey