BREAKING NEWS--

Momma Hooded Merganser, a small fish-eating duck, appeared today swimming across the pond with her new brood of seven newly-hatched ducklings.

They swam in a defensive cluster so tight a count was difficult.

I first saw her swim from the nest box area to the island, then to the mouth of the North inlet stream. Later, she zoomed across the pond and disappeared across the driveway into the weeds on the face of the dam.

This is the first successful nesting experience of Mergansers I have observed on the pond.

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Photo/3 day old merganser duckling from the Smithsonian National Zoological Park