Ducklings Leave the Nest | NATURE Nuggets

Nature on PBS
Nature on PBS
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Published 2016-06-22
Watch how hooded merganser ducklings calculate heights and carefully leave their home to join their mother in the water.
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NATURE Nuggets brings science and animals from NATURE on PBS to kids and their caregivers. Use the activities below to create active learning and engagement opportunities with your child.

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DISCUSS
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FRAME: “What is a duckling? Have you seen a duckling before? Where was it? Ducks are usually found near the water, but where are ducklings born?”

FOCUS: “In this video you’re going to see baby ducks – ducklings – leaving their nest in a tree to go to the water. Look for how the ducklings leave their nest.”

FOLLOW-UP: “How did the ducklings get out of the tree? How did they get to the water? What else did you see?”

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ACTIVITY IDEAS
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WATER PLAY: In the video, seven ducklings leave the nest and travel to their new home on the pond. Make you your own pond in a water table or plastic bin. Add rubber ducks, counting them as they swim into their new home. Develop fine motor skills with “duck races” in which children squirt the ducks with spray bottles to move them across the pond.

PAINT LIKE A DUCKLING: As you watch the video, look at the ducklings’ bodies. Discuss how they are covered in feathers and have webbed feet. Focus their attention on how careful the ducklings were before jumping, and made sure it was safe to jump. Have children paint a picture, using feathers as a brush. Try making webbed duck foot tracks by dipping spatulas into paint and “walking” the spatulas across paper!

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RELATED BOOKS
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Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

Just Ducks by Nicola Davies

Woddle, Woddle, Quack, Quack, Quack by Barbara Skalak

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All Comments (21)
  • @naturepbs
    If you think these baby ducks are brave, watch these young foxes play with each other to assert their dominance: bit.ly/2LCAPTV
  • @elinorhawke-szady1198
    Never realized Hooded Mergansers made their nests in trees! WOW - I would not want to drop that far if I were a duckling... afraid of heights! 😆
  • @FartSmucker
    1:14 "im ready for the world!....NO WAIT FUCK I WAS JUST KIDDING I WANNA LIVE AT HOME FOREVER"
  • @billfortier7035
    These chicks know exactly what they are doing. They softly hit the ground regroup and head directly for the pond where their mother and father are calling to them to show them what to eat and how to swim. There are many species of Wood Duck across the World and all breed the same way. Is not Mother Nature a wonderful force. Something to put a smile on Vanessa’s face......🤗🤗👏👏👏🇦🇺
  • @lelewildlife
    So very great and cute little ducklings! Hard work to get such pictures, very amazing and wonderful taken!
  • @Ethan-nw4ww
    They are the cutest things I’ve ever seen
  • @Garland67
    It's amazing they can make that jump and not die!
  • @Jacketpotatos1
    someone please animate little parachutes on them i beg of you!!