At first I thought this was a mallard hen. But I’ve never seen a mallard dive underwater and swim. This one dove several times in the tidewater of the Alsea River. Watch the video and tell me if you think this is a mallard. A still photo of her is below the link to the video.
And I love the colors on the Wood ducks!
How lucky are we to see this again!!
I saw 2 groups of Mallard ducks across the river. They stopped to look at something on the riverbank of the Alsea River. I saw a very small mink running along the bank so I started recording. Mama-Mallard kept her 5 babies safe again!
If you watch where the duck is looking you’ll see movement under the brush. That’s the mink. He dives in after them and Mama scatters her ducklings. This is a larger mink than I saw at first so I’m wondering about a mink family living nearby??? How cool is THAT!
Click/tap the link to watch the YouTube video: https://youtu.be/9T_Nh9kePiA
This Mallard mama did not turn her back on the mink that was running alongside her family on the Alsea River this morning.
The mink ran ahead; darting in and out of the riverside debris.
Mama-duck quacked and followed the mink to keep it moving and to let it know she was vigilantly protecting her ducklings.
She see’s her children are paying attention when she didn’t think they were.
I wonder what else mink eat? This one might not get duck for lunch.
The signs of spring are everywhere!
My neighbor calls these flowers a honeysuckle. I finally saw these for sale at the local market! They are Azaleas. They smell so pretty!
The Common Mergansers are starting their courting. The female mergansers seem the most aggressive. Females chase off other females when they get too close to the man she likes. The guys don’t seem to care who is close. Sometimes the males just swim away from all the drama but sometimes they like to watch the girl-fight.
I’ve seen several male mallards but no females yet.
Here’s a lone Hooded Merganser female. It seems like the hoodies courtship season comes a little later.
I had to finish the month with some wildlife baby pictures I got this week.
This mallard mom is watching over naptime of her 11 little ones.
Then they get up and get to work to feed themselves. You can see that one of the little ones is starting to look like mom on her upper wings.
Apparently WordPress isn’t going to let me post 2 YouTube videos so I’ll show the otters in the next blog.
My favorite thing about workamping is the opportunities for wildlife viewing.
Protective Harbor Seal Mom with Pup viewed from the Alsea Bay Bridge near Tillicum Beach Campground:
Mallard ducklings strike out on their own on the Alsea River near Blackberry Campground:
When the Alsea River is running fast and high the ducks rest in field puddles.
In addition to mallards we’ve seen mergansers and scaups. It’s not a very deep puddle. They are probably walking instead of paddling.
We’ve wondered if the diving ducks get their pointy bill stuck in the ground when they dive. 🙂
These heron are usually on dry ground in Lint Slough, in Waldport, Oregon. But with some good rains and high tides last week they were wading in the water.
Some found a dry patch.
Their colors seem more vibrant than usual. Maybe it’s their breeding plumage?
One of my favorite workamping benefits is observing the local wildlife.
