This is the moment the adorable fluffy chicks jumped into the water to swim with their mother for the first time since they were born.
Hooded Merganser ducklings dive into water within 24 hours of hatching, but only after their mother deems it safe.
Steve Furcich, who captured the magnificent scene in Lake Bavaria, Minnesota, recalled how the mother duck was “calling” to them as the chicks began to jump out of the nest.
Hooded merganser chicks, which dive for small fish to survive, will jump more than 50 feet from the nest to be with their mother and in some cases walk more than a half-mile to the nearest body of water.
It’s not clear how far the ducks Furcich observed traveled or how deep their jumps were. But the 66-year-old said the sight “never ceases to amaze me.”
A group of hooded merganser ducklings swim with their mother after diving from the nest in Bavaria Lake, Minnesota.
A hooded merganser duckling is seen during its first bath, which takes place 24 hours after hatching.
A duckling is seen diving from its nest in Bavaria Lake, Minnesota.
A Hooded Pochard duckling floats in the air after diving from the nest.
“The chicks all hatch within 24 hours of each other and then they all jump out of the nest 24 hours later, but not until the mother is out of the nest and calling for them,” Furcich said.
“It never ceases to amaze me that all of this happens on time and as planned.”
“These ducks have muscles that can change the shape of their eyeballs to achieve perfect vision underwater,” the photographer added.
‘Birds can be more difficult to photograph because their movements can be faster and less predictable.
“A good photographer is like a football player: he anticipates where the ball will go instead of reacting and running after it.”
Hooded mergansers can be found throughout the eastern half of the U.S., and the species’ primary breeding range is near the Great Lakes, according to Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas.
There is also a scattered population of hooded mergansers in the Pacific Northwest.
Hooded merganser chicks, which dive for small fish to survive, will jump more than 50 feet from the nest to be with their mother.
A mother duck will call to her young, causing the fuzzy chicks to rush to the nest entrance.
Ducks launch themselves from a nest box into the water on a Bavarian lake
Ducklings will leave the nest within 24 hours of hatching, after their mother checks the surrounding area for possible threats.
Female hooded ducks often lay eggs in nests belonging to other ducks. All about birds reported.
They lay approximately 13 eggs per clutch, but nests with up to 44 eggs have been found.
Ducklings will leave the nest within 24 hours of hatching, after their mother scans the surrounding area for possible threats.
She will then call to her young, causing the fuzzy chicks to rush to the nest entrance and then flutter to the ground to join her and swim away.
The oldest recorded hooded merganser He was a male and lived at least 14 years and six months.
He was originally banded in Minnesota in 1995 and shot in Mississippi in 2009, the outlet reported.
Photographer Steve Furcich captured this duckling in flight as it dove in to join its mother in the water for the first time.
Two ducklings are caught jumping out of their nest near Lake Bavaria in Minnesota
Pictured here is a Hooded Pochard duckling taking its first swim near Lake Bavaria in Minnesota.
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