The Life Of Birds 9. Problems Of Parenthood (8 of 15)

The Life Of Birds

The female goldeneye regularly lays in a woodpecker's hole.
But when her young have got over that handicap, she solicitously leads them down to water, for that's the only place where they, like most ducklings, can gather food for themselves.
Here in British Columbia, there is no shortage of lakes, and their mother goes ahead and calls to them to join her.
This lake, however, has already been claimed - by another female goldeneye with her brood.
And she is very possessive.
There's going to be trouble.
The newcomer has to leave.
But her ducklings can't fly away with her.
So they join the resident family.

That's no problem for mother.
They can fend for themselves.
And having an enlarged family reduces the chances of her own ducklings being taken by a hungry fish or a hawk.
In the end, she may accumulate a flock of twenty or more.
A river in the high Andes.
Unlikely though it may seem, some ducks manage to live on these racing waters as well - torrent ducks.
These have made their nest in the rocks thirty feet above the water, high enough to be safe if the river were suddenly to rise.
But that means that these ducklings also have a very hazardous journey to make.
Even mother has a little trouble.