Female goosander with ducklings hitching a ride A female goosander appears toward the far bank of the River Kent, her eleven ducklings feeding about her. My second goosander family this week. They swim closer and next moment the foremost ducklings are riding on her back and the rest of her brood swims head-to-tail behind her. She heads up-stream and I must follow.
The goosander family swims beneath trees of the river bank and out of sight. To and fro, I seek them but they are gone. Upstream again and I spy them in the distance. The river flows more quickly, after yesterday's rain. If I hurry I can overtake them. Now they swim close to the near bank, by a shoal of pebbles, screened for a moment by flowers of comfrey. Dabbling, they feed in the shallows then come ashore. Their mother preens and her downy ducklings imitate her, learning feather-care. Taking photographs, I'm torn between stills and video. I need an assistant with a second camera. My video shows the female goosander standing close to the water and one of her ducklings venturing beneath her belly. Exploring a little, fetching a companion until her straggle of ducklings comes to shelter beneath her, shuffling and snuggling close as she mantles them under her sheltering wings. A tiny head peeps out at her head and tail, then they leave look-out duty to their mother and come to rest in perfect symmetry. Their mother's head tucked into her wings, her eyes keeping watch over them.
I'm curious to understand the goosander way of life. Once the female begins to incubate her eggs the male leaves her. She must time the hatching of her eggs precisely. Her ducklings are in the nest for a single day, then they jump from the tree hole and make quickly for the river, together. Ducklings can dive at a day old, in shallow water where they feed on aquatic insects, vegetation , small fish. With a brood of eleven or more I wonder how it came about that the male goosander does not stay to help raise his young. How does the parenting model evolve, across different species? Swans, cob and pen, are both attentive parents.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust:
his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
King James Bible Psalm 91. 4
This verse from the Psalms hovered somewhere in my memory. Then I met Daphne who was enjoying the river birds and she found the quotation. An image of ancient provenance. Here on the riverbank it's an image of motherhood.
As the goosander covered her eleven ducklings under her wings I was their shield and buckler too. I stood at a respectful distance from the birds as a woman approached, about to let loose her dogs. So I stepped before the goosander family, smiled at the woman, invited her to share something very special, willing her to hold on to her dogs and retreat. Which soon she did.
When summer rains set in the river rose and flowed fast. I could not find the goosander and her ducklings. I wonder how many of that brood she reared? I saw tiny mallard ducklings scrambling to the safety of the river bank, following their mother. And two being born downstream, alone. Too tiny, too vulnerable to last long.
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