Mallard duckling

I went to visit the goslings on Clapham Common this afternoon, but they weren't there! I was so shocked: I was thrilled, but also felt a strong sense of loss... I know they're not mine.

The two cootlings on Eagle Pond are now almost adult-sized (although they still look very young and are considerably more slender than their parents...): they're developing their frontal shields, but only on one of them has it started to turn white. The moorhenlings have changed even more dramatically, and (despite being younger by many weeks) are also looking almost adult-sized! They're brown and feathery, and have almost grown into their feet (well, as much as rails ever do...).

I then went to the boating pond to see the mallard duck and her four ducklings, and there stumbled across 5 of the 8 (or 7 if you're less optimistic about Angel Wing) Egpytian goslings. The boating pond is perhaps 400m from Eagle Pond, so they've hardly migrated far. I wonder where the other 2 ones capable of flying have landed themselves... There was indeed a mallard with ducklings, but it was another family this time with 8 ducklings! The mother was nestling on them all when I arrived, so she looked like she was crouching but had a few tiny heads sticking out from under her feathers. They all have typical mallard colouration unlike the previous mother who had two ("normal") dark ducklings, and two much paler ones.

This one fell into the water when stretching its legs after emerging from under its mother... Super-cute!