Haiku: A New Family

 

two ducklings snuggling together on shingle beside a female mallard duck

 

folded in friendship
her duckling, one orphan
a new family

© Xenia Tran

 

two ducklings swimming in the river

The female mallard in the top photograph had lost most of her brood to the crows within a week of hatching and only one duckling survived. She adopted another duckling who had lost all her siblings as well as her mother. The two ducklings are roughly the same age and have become the best of friends.

With love from Xenia xxx

 

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX60 HS, Settings: f/6.5, 1/320 s, ISO 320 and f/5.6, 1/250 s, ISO 250.

 

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Author: Tranature - quiet moments in nature

The stories, poems and photographs on Tranature are the original creative work of Xenia Tran, inspired by the natural surroundings of the Scottish Highlands.

32 thoughts on “Haiku: A New Family”

    1. Thank you Cathy, we are so glad these two are safe now and with a loving mother. A wonderful weekend to you too and much love from all of us here :o) xxx

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words Pat, it is so lovely to see how birds support each other. We notice it among the seagulls too, they are all helping each other out :o) xxx

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      1. Seagulls are very smart! I once saw one break the shell of a clam. You would think..peck, peck till it opens, right. No. It picked it up, soared out over the water, came back toward the (concrete) pier, and dropped it from the air. This of course cracked the shell open, then he swooped in and ate it!! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was amazing to watch! 😊

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        1. Wow, they are so clever! Thank you for sharing this lovely story :o) xxx

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    1. Thank you dear Lois, it was very sad how many ducklings were lost to the crows early in the season. Thankfully these two have made it and found each other and more ducklings are surviving now. Much love to you, Parker and Piper from all of us here :o) xxx

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  9. Oh, my gosh! What a story! You are so observant to have witnessed all this. It seems to me that animal relationships are as deep and complex as ours are

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words Laurie 💜 I had sadly noticed that a lot of early ducklings were not around on the following day unril I saw these two, who looked more different in size early on, always snuggled up together. A local man who feeds the birds told me what had happened 🙂💖🦆 xxx

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