1706_2783 Distress
This female Green-winged Teal repeatedly landed and flew up from the pond where I was hunkered down with my long lens and tripod. Splashdowns and running across the water seemingly at random. I was puzzled by this behaviour. She wasn't reacting to me, and the other birds nearby - killdeer along the shore, common nighthawks above - were ignoring her. After a while I figured it out (I think): she had lost her little brood. Other teal hens in the same wetland had enormous broods, far too many to just be their own. I think that somehow this poor duck had her ducklings siphoned off, so to speak, by more aggressive teal hens, and she just didn't know what to do next.
I think it's a fairly common narrative. I can't confirm that it really applies to this situation, but the behaviour does fit. Mysteries of the natural world - sometimes all we can do is speculate...
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2017 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
1706_2783 Distress
This female Green-winged Teal repeatedly landed and flew up from the pond where I was hunkered down with my long lens and tripod. Splashdowns and running across the water seemingly at random. I was puzzled by this behaviour. She wasn't reacting to me, and the other birds nearby - killdeer along the shore, common nighthawks above - were ignoring her. After a while I figured it out (I think): she had lost her little brood. Other teal hens in the same wetland had enormous broods, far too many to just be their own. I think that somehow this poor duck had her ducklings siphoned off, so to speak, by more aggressive teal hens, and she just didn't know what to do next.
I think it's a fairly common narrative. I can't confirm that it really applies to this situation, but the behaviour does fit. Mysteries of the natural world - sometimes all we can do is speculate...
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2017 James R. Page - all rights reserved.