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it's springtime here so it's a great time to see baby birds. the most easily spotted ones for us are ones swimming in the water, such as these charming mallard ducklings. the city of Fredrikstad in Norway is located on the largest river in Norway, the Glomma River. the city includes several islands which divide the river making for sections with less current than the main section. the areas with greatly reduced current are ideal for mallards so they are plentiful here. i took these shots of the ducklings with their mother from a low wooden bridge that connected one of the smaller islands to the mainland. when we were on the bridge they happened to swim under it, giving me the opportunity to get these shots from above at a close distance yet without disturbing them in any way.

this particular mother mallard was very dark with a white breast indicating that she is likely a wild/domestic hybrid. her brood of ducklings was darker than the other ones we observed. most of the other females we saw had the typical wild mallard mottled brown appearance. likewise for the males, most had the typical wild pigmentation.