{"id":113350,"date":"2023-05-09T04:32:40","date_gmt":"2023-05-09T10:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=113350"},"modified":"2023-05-09T04:32:40","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T10:32:40","slug":"neighborhood-cuties-baby-mallard-ducklings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/05\/09\/neighborhood-cuties-baby-mallard-ducklings\/","title":{"rendered":"Neighborhood Cuties: Baby Mallard Ducklings"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s hard to ignore the adorable charm of baby birds, which is why I couldn’t resist taking some photos of these precious Mallard ducklings yesterday.<\/p>\n

\"UrbanUrban Mallard ducklings in grass \u2013 Nikon D500, handheld, f9, 1\/250, ISO 640, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 155mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Their fluffy feathers and tiny beaks were simply irresistible, drawing me in with their playful and curious nature. Even in this busy neighborhood, these little ones managed to capture my attention and reminded me of the beauty that surrounds us every day.<\/p>\n

At this age these seven baby ducklings can’t fly so they follow their mother around and stick pretty close to her. I hope these ducklings survive the outdoor cats in the neighborhood until they learn to use their wings.<\/p>\n

\"BabyBaby Mallards in dappled light \u2013 Nikon D500, handheld, f9, 1\/250, ISO 640, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 155mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I was having a bit of a stressful, busy day before these ducklings were pointed out to me. Photographing the baby Mallards was just the touch of nature I needed.<\/p>\n

Did you know… <\/strong><\/h2>\n

That baby Mallards are great swimmers from the moment they hatch and can swim underwater by their first day? Or that they can find their own food within hours of hatching?<\/p>\n

Now you do!<\/p>\n

Mallards are abundant in North America and this is probably the first duck species I saw and could easily identify as a child. I enjoy seeing them in my neighborhood, local parks, or out in the marshes that surround the Great Salt Lake.<\/p>\n

I will be keeping a look out for more Mallard ducklings close to home and out in the field. I truly can’t resist having them in my viewfinder or watching them learn about their world. They are just that<\/em> cute.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Mallard photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s hard to ignore the adorable charm of baby birds, which is why I couldn’t resist taking some photos of these precious Mallard ducklings yesterday. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":113343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,965,709,26],"tags":[4237,6479,5772,4717,7936,1129,5259,4414,126,3747,4204,1604,7951,3973,165,8018,30],"class_list":["post-113350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-mallards","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-anas-platyrhynchos","tag-babies","tag-baby","tag-dabbling-ducks","tag-dappled","tag-duck","tag-duckling","tag-ducklings","tag-ducks-2","tag-grass","tag-light","tag-mallard","tag-mallards","tag-salt-lake-county","tag-spring","tag-urban","tag-utah-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/mallard-babies-in-grass-mia-mcpherson-6083.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-tue","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46661,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/05\/08\/mallard-ducklings-signs-of-spring\/","url_meta":{"origin":113350,"position":0},"title":"Mallard Ducklings – Signs of Spring","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I haven't seen many chicks yet this spring but yesterday I saw a Mallard hen with her ducklings swimming behind her on a local pond and I had to aim my lens at them.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mallard hen with her ducklings, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/mallard-ducklings-mia-mcpherson-1633.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/mallard-ducklings-mia-mcpherson-1633.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/mallard-ducklings-mia-mcpherson-1633.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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McPherson","date":"June 4, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I can't pass up photographing mountain Mallard babies when I find their little fluffy selves on mountain creeks, streams, lakes, or reservoirs.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mountain Mallard babies in a creek, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/mallard-ducklings-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-7264.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/mallard-ducklings-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-7264.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/mallard-ducklings-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-7264.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 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