Once again, ducklings

Ducklings are finally starting to arrive at Lake Murray and, fortunately, the gulls have diminished enough so that I can enjoy them without worrying about them getting snagged right in front of me. Also, the herons' chicks are also mostly grown, which means there is less desperation to get food. I've only seen one black-crowned night heron, for example.

I would post about other birds and their babies, except I'm not seeing too many or they were moving around too much. There was a killdeer nest, but it is unknown what happened to it.

Yesterday, I saw all these ducklings.

A mom with 8 ducklings, she was very shy. A pied-billed grebe swam under them and mom got really mad and beat the grebe up. I'm not sure if the grebe was after the ducklings, or just chasing a fish. The grebe's baby was disappointed that mom didn't get something to eat.

Another shy mother with four littles.

Bath time for these ducklings who made it to one week old.

The older ducklings have grown a little. A heron was in a tree watching them, but they didn't see it until it flew off. They are still small enough to get eaten or killed by the bigger herons.

And, Pumpkin with Runner Duck and her other friends.