After being born only hours before, newly hatched ducklings were faced with a daunting task: get off the nest as an eagle attacked.
The mallard ducklings, who were born inside the DNR EagleCam nest, made their first appearance on Thursday, hatching sometime before daylight.
While a welcome sight to viewers, danger made itself known very early on, with the nest’s original occupants deciding to pay a visit to the ducks in a very unneighborly fashion.
One of the bald eagles, who nested nearby, was seen swooping on top of mother mallard, chasing her away from the nest for a short time, leaving the chicks alone inside the nest, high up in the air.
While the mallard was able to fly back to the nest, she disappeared some time later.
Elizabeth Nault-Maurer, a communication specialist for the DNR’s nongame wildlife program, tells 5 EYWITNESS NEWS, the mother mallard had jumped from the nest to encourage the ducklings to follow her.
While three did follow, five decided to remain in the nest. Around 5 p.m., a fourth duckling left.
With just four ducklings remaining in the nest, around 6:15 p.m. a bald eagle was seen pouncing onto the nest and grabbing one of the ducklings with its talons.
One duckling remained still behind the eagle, hiding from the predator, while another was seen running and jumping to the ground.
The bald eagle preyed upon the duckling it captured before spotting another. It took the second duckling into its mouth and then flew off, leaving a single duckling up in the nest.
Remaining the only duck still in the nest, the lone duckling ran to the end of the nest, where it hid under some twigs as it inched closer to the edge.
As the eagle circled back for another attack, the duckling was seen jumping to safety, mere moments before the eagle landed back onto the nest.
As of Friday, the nest has remained empty, with the fate of the ducklings currently unknown.
Nault-Mauerer said they can’t verify if the mother and her ducklings survived, said there were no signs of the ducklings near the tree, and said the nest was close to the water, making it possible that the six ducklings who jumped from the nest could’ve survived.
“While yesterday’s events at the nest was difficult to watch, this was a natural process,” Nault-Mauerer said. “Bald eagles are birds of prey, and these two ducklings made for an easy meal to feed itself and possibly for its two eaglets, which continue to grow at a steady pace.”
While the loss of ducks is sad, the moment serves as a reminder of how wild and ruthless nature can be.
However, even in the face of this sad moment, it reminds us of just how beautiful the circle of life can be as well. While we grieve for the loss of at least one duckling, some may be able to take solace in knowing its death is not in vain and will help sustain the bald eagles as they work to raise their own young.
Nature is unbiased and blesses us with the highest of highs and sometimes the lowest of lows.
It is both happiness and sadness, hope and disappointment, beauty and tragedy, life and death.
