00:01And at dawn the very next morning after they hatch, their mother leaves and begins to call
00:07to them. She's calling them out of the nest. They don't hesitate. With small sharp claws
00:23on the end of their webbed toes, they climb the sides of the nest. A daunting reality is
00:34waiting for each of them. Their safe and cozy home is some 70 feet up in the hollow of an
00:44oak tree. It's just the second day of her life. She can't fly. At this stage, she doesn't
00:57really have any wings to speak of. But she can see the ground far below and hear her mother's
01:08calls. Maybe courage comes from necessity. Maybe it comes in knowing from birth exactly
01:20what to do.
01:41She weighs less than an ounce and lands softly and safely in the leaf litter below. And one
01:48by one, ducklings rain down from the tall oak tree.
02:23The siblings rally together on the forest floor. Their mother continues calling from the middle
02:32of a nearby pond. And with single-minded purpose and surprising speed, her brood sets off towards
02:40her.
02:47The tiny ducklings are unstoppable.
03:05Just ahead lies the world they were made for. And they take to the pond like, well, ducks
03:23to water.
03:37Out on the pond, a vision awaits them, resplendent in feathers of green and chestnut, ornately patterned
03:52and trimmed in white, with bill and eyes of blazing red.
04:01The ducklings' parents are North American wood ducks, dazzling members of a remarkable group
04:08group of waterfowl.
04:31Ducks are complex characters.
04:34Ducks are complex characters.
04:38Fascinating and funny.
04:43Sophisticated and silly.
04:50Much of their lives we never see, yet they seem as familiar as a nursery rhyme.
05:01There are pintails and buffalo heads, eiders, wigeons, canvas backs, and green-winged teals.
05:15More than 120 different species in all.
05:18Take care.
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