DucklingCam

I am not sure what this was all about.  The camera was set to keep an eye on the otter but does pick up other things.  I have seen water shrews, water rails and rats before but this was a first.  I think what happened was that one duckling jumped or fell over the sluice gate and the others followed.  Then they were unable to get back up to the mother duck who stayed on the water above.  The ducklings ran up and down the pipe more than a dozen times while the mother can be heard calling from above the sluice gate. It is funny to watch but must have been frightening for them and I am not sure how it ended.  The contrast between the dark of the culvert and the bright sunshine above the sluice gate is too much for the camera so we can't see the mother duck clearly.  The camera didn't show the mother in the pipe but she could have flown over to the other end or walked round a different way.  Eventually there were 13 ducklings running up and down for the next 23 minutes (don't worry, I have edited the video).  After that the numbers were down to four so the others may have gone off downstream.  Then there were two and after another 16 minutes there was no more recording.

The odd thing is that two days later it all happened again.  Again it started with one duckling jumping over and this time there were eight.  And again the mother can be heard calling from above the gate.  These ducklings ran through but didn't return.  It could be the same family who had worked out how to get back round above the sluice gate.  If so they may have lost five or the other five may not have jumped a second time.

Then six days later a repeat performance.  I can't tell if this was the same duck family, but, if so, they don't learn.  The camera had been moved to the other side of the pipe and there were three ducklings down in the pipe, with mother (and perhaps other ducklings) still up above the gate.  Mother was very agitated but didn't follow them down.  This sequence went on for 10 minutes and was again unresolved.  They ended up behind the camera at the downstream end of the culvert and I don't know what happened after that.  They will have to be careful as there are crows and magpies around, not to mention otters.