Babies, babies, babies...

[dockothebay]

seem to be everywhere in the woods. It's been fun to see all the little ones being fed and learning to use the feeders. The fluffy/ratty feathers are a dead give-away! The pictures are nothing special, just fun stuff.

Downy Woodpecker

some kind of diving duck - hooded merganser maybe? Mrs Mallard sure didn't like these guys getting close to her brood though!

[micpic]

Nice shots! I do not think that the babes are Mergansers. I've got some shots of their young and they don't seem the same. Mergansers have a very narrow bill. I hope someone has a better identification than me. And of course, I could be very wrong!

Mike

[dockothebay]

Thanks Mike - Help anyone??? These 2 were diving all the way under the water, as opposed to the mallards that were just eating insects and floating snails. They were younger than the mallard troop and the day I watched them there was no adult around - so I took a stab in the dark since I have seen hooded mregansers around periodically.

[MN Shutterbug]

I'm no good at identifying ducky youngsters, but the young woody is sure nice and sharp.

[finnbay]

I like the downy on the red pine!

[Borealhunter]

I am only just guessing but based on the fact you shot them near Hackensack, MN I am going to take a wild stab at the ID and possibly say they could be young Ring-neck Ducks. I was going to guess scaup but I think they are more of a prairie pot hole nester and Ring-neck Ducks do breed on lakes or large ponds in northeast Minnesota.

My first thought when I saw the white cheek patch of the young was to call them Ruddy Ducks but again they are more of a prairie pot hole nester.

I hope this helps.

Mike Hendrickson

[dockothebay]

Thank you, Mike - maybe by next week they'll have more mature coloring, if they're still around. I'll have to watch for the adults. Always looking for something new

[USDA3]

Wow! Nice pics! They look so close:)

Must be that new toy!

[dockothebay]

yup - gonna take me a loooong time to learn to use it well though

[Birdsong]

Thanks for sharing your babies. Even my yard is lots of fun right now. Lots of babies.

[panthrcat]

very nice!!!