I mentioned in Flock Friday yesterday that Sonja’s ducklings were due to hatch that day, based on when she started full-time nesting. Well, right on schedule, they did indeed; I saw the first duckling yesterday afternoon, and this morning there are several; a little too dark to count them, but I’m pretty sure I saw at least six.
Here are some GIFs of them, starting with the first one I saw:
Another GIF:
GIF of a duckling tumbling out of the nest, and climbing back in:
After dark GIF with several visible:
This morning, one of the boys was being too nosy, so Sonja led him away from the nest. The oldest duckling followed to the door, then returned to the nest (GIF):
While she was away, we get a better look at the squirming mass of ducklings in this GIF; see how many you can count:
For comparison, here is a picture of Betty’s ducklings; already much bigger:
Finally, several ducklings emerging from under Sonja:
Stay tuned for another baby duckling update tomorrow.