A couple of dozen super cute ducklings and cygnets to make us smile as we wait to hear if the Victorian Government will honour Parliamentary Inquiry’s recommendation to ban the recreational shooting of native birds, or if they will support local and international shooters, and the unions, and permit tax-payer-funded death and destruction to continue on our wetlands.
It’s so lovely to watch these tiny fluff balls move so quickly through the silky waters. I can’t help but imagine how speedily those tiny feet are paddling.
And seeing a newly hatched duckling checking out ‘interesting’ things in its environment is pretty funny to watch.
Sometimes it takes them a while to work out what is and isn’t edible!
Australian Wood Ducks/Maned Ducks nest in a hollow in one of the huge Mahogany Gums at my place. Watching the parent birds encouraging the ducklings to leap from the safety of their cosy nest is an incredibly moving sight.
There is definitely something anthropomorphic about watching parent ducks as they keep track of their ducklings.
The expression on this duckling’s face makes me wonder what curiosity it has spotted!
This is a pretty rotten photograph as I hadn’t realised there was a little one hitching a ride when I focused on the mumma duck and the other ducklings.
Adult ducks often rise out of the water and flap their wings, which is exactly what this newly hatched blackie was doing, only it wings were too tiny to look impressive.
This is one of a series of shots I took of a newly hatched duckling as it spun around and around in the water. I’ve included a face-on capture in this year’s diary, it’s a shot that astounds me as the duckling was moving so quickly. Even in this shot you can see the vortex effect from it paddling in a circle.
I still smile at the memory of this sight. There is something serene about black swans and cygnets. Although they are not a ‘game’ species they are often shot on the wetlands, or disturbed by the horrendous noise made by shotguns. Sadly many swans abandon their nests during shooting seasons. It makes my heart cry.
I feel like these little beauties posed for me to take a family photograph.
I remember lying on a pebbly bank to photograph this cygnet. They are such a graceful species.
This sweet duckling came so close, as I was stretched out on the bank, that I couldn’t get all of it in the frame. It seemed to be looking at me as though I was a strange curiosity, maybe I am!
My photographs are often used by organisations striving to highlight the cruel truth about recreational duck shooting; including the Coalition Against Duck Shooting, and Regional Victorians Opposed to Duck Shooting. I hope that today’s images will inspire you to send a quick note to the politicians who will soon make a decision regarding recreational duck shooting. Will they ban it as overwhelmingly urged by most Victorians? Will they kowtow to unions (who are threatening to strike), international big game hunters (who should have nothing to do with it) and the tiny minority of men (mostly men) who like to blast hundreds of pellets in the general direction of our native birds? I have written many posts about the horrors of duck shooting, some of which are in the right-hand sidebar under ‘favourites’ while others can be found by searching.
I urge you to send a heartfelt note to these two addressees to uphold the Inquiry’s recommendation and permanently ban recreational duck shooting in Victoria: jacinta.allan@parliament.vic.gov.au and steve.dimopoulos@parliament.vic.gov.au. I can’t bear the thought of being on the wetlands again with the noise of the guns and the flapping of injured birds… please help.
Thank you, and happy birding, Kim
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