Barred owl eating a mallard duckling, one of the last ones of the brood.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ELENA CALDERONE
Caught in the act - barred owl makes a meal out of a duckling
Nature can be brutally unforgiving, especially when you’re a newly-hatched duckling- and for the campus of William & Mary, the
tragic fate of a mallard family served as a sad example of the truth behind the circle of life.
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BY ELENA CALDERONE
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ELENA CALDERONE
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PUBLISHED ON MAY 7, 2021
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It’s a tough world to live in if you’re a duckling, and the fate of a mallard family, who made their home in the college woods of William and Mary’s campus, is a prime example of just exactly how tough. After their hatching on March 26th, nine little ducklings soon became the highlight of every student’s day - everyone loves baby ducks. They’re the epitome of spring, Mother Nature at its sweetest. But spring for this family quickly turned into a rude awakening for all of us.
In just three days, four of the ducklings had disappeared. That's almost a 50% mortality rate. How the first four were killed, we could only speculate - a lot of predators make meals out of newly-hatched ducks: snakes, snapping turtles, hawks, raccoons, foxes- even herons, among many others. The first few days of a duckling’s life are the most dangerous. Survival rate of mallard ducklings can be as little as 10%, with studies documenting it's common for only 2-3 to survive the two months it takes to fledge. There's a reason the females lay so many eggs - the extremely low chance of them living past the first thirty days requires, as The National Audubon Society puts it, reproductive insurance. Our female mallard had laid twelve eggs in her nest, yet, as we know, only nine were successfully able to hatch.
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Knowing I was quite possibly running out of time, I set out one evening with the intention of finding and photographing the ducklings. Surprisingly I had yet to see them, even though many of my classmates had been getting pictures. After searching for some time around the wooded paths and little creeks where they were usually found, I was close to giving up. A nice surprise was that our resident barred owl was perched in one of the magnolia trees he so often visited, but the ducklings were my priority and I had taken enough pictures of this owl already. Almost always there, he was frequently spotted snoozing in the shade during the day, completely unperturbed by the students passing under him. Just the other week I photographed him digging into a freshly-caught snake.
Previous shots of the resident barred owl on campus
As I walked back to the pond in one last attempt at finding the ducks, I noticed the barred owl silently glide through the trees to my left and disappear. A few minutes later and I see him flying back towards the magnolia with something small and furry in his talons. Excited to at least get some good shots of the owl eating what I expected to be a mouse or squirrel, I hurried after him, aimed and focused my camera, and at last, realized what he had caught.
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I watched in utter despair as he began to eat the fifth duckling. In hindsight, I'm glad I was able to focus enough to get the shots, but it is an understatement to say it was one of the saddest things I've had to witness. Now, I know- It's the circle of life. But when the first time you see the ducklings you've been searching for is in the talons of an owl, it's not exactly how you imagined it. Still gripping the duckling with his feet, with its tiny head flopped upside down, the barred owl worked his way through plucking the soft down from its body. His beak was stained with red. To the owl, this was not an adorable, fluffy little duck. It was his dinner, his way of surviving. I knew this. And still.
The first few shots of the owl and the duckling
I left the scene after having taken enough pictures, shocked at what I'd just witnessed. Ironically, I did end up finding the rest of the ducklings that night. In the dimming light, the last four were following their mother around the creek, dabbling for food, as if nothing was amiss. And so, it seems, owls are also amongst the long list of animals that consider ducklings a meal.
The fourth duckling was snatched from the water by a red-tailed hawk, according to another student. I went out after hearing the news and spent well-over two hours taking pictures of the last three and their mother. They were swimming around a shallow part of the pond, all seemingly oblivious to anything other than the food they were pursuing. The mother was at ease, also focused solely on feeding herself. And then, out of nowhere they all froze, the three ducklings in a tight row at their mother's side. I had never seen the mother so alert before- head up and emitting low quacks. As soon as I began to wonder why, a red-shouldered hawk flew right over us and out into the forest. Almost immediately they unfroze and continued what they'd been doing a moment before.
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The remaining three ducklings. The second photo was taken right before the hawk flew over them
Ducklings inevitably get tired after a while, as does the mom. With the mother's eyes drooping shut and her head slowly lowering, the three little ones cuddled up next to her. I’d wanted to yell at her then- demand that she do a better job of protecting her remaining three, absurd as that would have been. Instead I quietly continued watching them, the ducklings all snuggled up together in a pile at their mom’s side. After some time I left them like that, the little family napping peacefully in the sun. It was a bittersweet picture- how blissfully unaware of the dangers they all were.
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Family naptime- the three ducklings cuddle together next to their mother- right before the third was taken
Not even an hour after I left, I received the notification that there were only two. At the time, I was going through the photos I had just taken of them. I was just there. I will always regret not staying a little longer. But again, I remind myself that this is nature, and nature is sometimes unforgiving.
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No one knows what took the third duckling. Or the second. Or the last. That final, infamous message saying that the mother was alone was sent to us all on April 7th. And that was it- in the span of just a week and a half, all of the ducklings were gone. Everyone who had followed their story was upset, and rightfully so. It is a sad thought that not one survived. It is also surprising, as generally, at the very least, one or two do make it. There are a few possible explanations for why this specific brood did so poorly. For one, younger mallards don't have as much experience being mothers- we don't know how old ours is, but she very well may be new at this. Another reason could be the habitat- extensive wetland and open water is ideal for mallards. Our ducks lived in the woods of a college campus, with two big ponds and a few tiny creeks. Being the only mallard ducks in this less-than-ideal habitat, with hawks and snapping turtles and a resident barred owl all ever-present, these ducklings might have just been unlucky.
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The tragic end to their story affected many of us. But at least, as the saying that arose from this goes, "they were cute while they lasted." We can only hope that before the season ends this female has another brood, as they normally have between one and two. Perhaps she will get better at protecting them as she grows older. Perhaps the barred owl will tire of the taste of duckling. And of course, as we all know, the circle of life does continue. So perhaps, next time, they will have just a bit more luck.