The Moment a Mother Duck Made Her Choice: A Rescue at the Fishway

Posted by 身近な生き物語 on

 A Detailed Observation of an Urban Spot-Billed Duck Family in Japan

Introduction: A Critical Decision in a Split Second

In urban rivers, danger often comes without warning.
This article documents a dramatic moment in which a mother spot-billed duck (Karugamo) made an instant decision to rescue one of her ducklings after it was swept down a concrete fishway.

This observation features the De family, consisting of seven ducklings at approximately 11 days old, recorded in Japan’s Kantō region. What unfolded was a vivid example of parental investment, risk assessment, and coordinated family behavior in an urban wildlife environment.

About the Spot-Billed Duck (Karugamo)

The spot-billed duck (Anas zonorhyncha) is a common resident waterfowl species in Japan, especially in rivers, canals, and urban wetlands. Unlike migratory species, many Karugamo pairs breed and raise their young directly within city environments, navigating:

  • Concrete riverbanks

  • Fishways and weirs

  • Roads and storm drains

  • Human foot traffic and predators

They typically lay 8–13 eggs, and the ducklings become independent after about two months. However, the first two weeks are particularly critical for survival.

The Incident: A Duckling Swept into the Fishway

This De family consisted of seven ducklings, still in an early developmental stage. During routine movement along a river weir, one duckling was suddenly swept down the fishway, a narrow artificial water channel designed for fish to migrate upstream.

Fishways are especially hazardous for ducklings because:

  • Water flow is fast

  • Walls are steep and smooth

  • Escape routes are limited

  • Ducklings can panic and freeze

The moment the mother noticed the missing duckling, she did not hesitate. Instead of calling from above, she immediately descended into the fishway herself to reach the chick.

The remaining six ducklings, still above, followed in sequence—except for one frightened duckling that became unable to descend due to fear and instability.

At that moment, the mother made a second critical choice:
she flew back up the wall, returned to the final duckling, and physically encouraged it to descend safely.

The entire family reunited below.

▶ Video Embed Location


“The Moment a Mother Duck Chose to Descend – Rescuing a Washed-Away Duckling”

“Can Ducklings Climb Back Up?” – Answering a Common Concern

Many viewers worry whether ducklings trapped below a weir can climb back up.
In this specific location, they can—and there is documented proof.

Five days earlier, the same De family successfully climbed this exact steep structure while even younger and weaker. The mother repeatedly ascended and returned to encourage each duckling in sequence.

▶ Related Video (With Music Editing)

https://youtu.be/7PoOJLAYDXw

Why Do Duck Families Gather Around Weirs and Fishways?

At first, it seemed puzzling why duck families repeatedly appear in such dangerous locations. However, through the observation of over 100 duck families, a pattern has emerged:

  • Downstream of weirs, sediment accumulates

  • This creates grassy, insect-rich land patches

  • These areas provide:

    • Food

    • Cover from wind

    • Soft resting grounds

It is likely that duck families actively select these zones as temporary habitats, even though the adjacent structures themselves are hazardous.

This is not a scientific conclusion, but a long-term observational hypothesis based on repeated field evidence.

▶ Unedited Evidence Footage (No Music, Full Observation Record)

0527E – Raw Documentation
https://youtu.be/hyoflNUeV3I?si=0o7WOsz7IXdvcQKS&t=3165

This footage begins from the fishway incident and continues through later behavior, including:

  • Attempts by the mother to lead ducklings into rest

  • Ducklings resisting and continuing to play

  • Movement over multiple weirs

  • Final nesting posture beneath the mother

About the Recording Method

This project publishes both edited cinematic videos and full unedited daily records. The raw footage:

  • Is extremely long

  • Contains many uneventful segments

  • Includes harsh realities of wild survival

  • Is not optimized for entertainment

However, it exists as unchangeable observational evidence.

To track individuals across years, each duck family is assigned a unique identification code. Mothers are distinguished not only by location and duckling count, but by detailed wing feather patterns (especially the tertial feathers).

Reference Image for Identification

https://cdn-ak.f.st-hatena.com/images/fotolife/m/mochico25/20251204/20251204152509.jpg

The Life History of the De Family

This article’s featured family is identified as De7.

During development, this family experienced a rare and unusual event:
one duckling temporarily merged into a different family group for several days, then miraculously returned to its original seven-duckling family—a phenomenon observed only once across more than 200 families.

A Note from the Observer

I continue to record vast volumes of daily footage, but I am not a professional researcher. I am simply a long-term field observer documenting what unfolds naturally in an urban river environment.

If any duck researchers, behavioral ecologists, or urban wildlife scientists find value in these records, I would be deeply honored. My hope is that these observations may serve as raw reference material for future studies on urban wildlife adaptation.

All unedited recordings are preserved without alteration so that they may remain verifiable evidence rather than narrative reconstructions.

Unedited Archive Playlist (All Raw Records)

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL7dTQKKqrPzZpmfSA98tn9tXWfkp1jBB&si=cyUuUS5pCEsyDqKw

Closing

This single moment—when a mother duck chose to descend rather than abandon—may appear small.
Yet within it lies a complete story of instinct, risk, memory, learning, and family cohesion.

Urban wildlife does not merely survive alongside humans.
It continuously adapts, chooses, fails, succeeds, and remembers—just beyond the edges of our daily routines.

Comments

Post a Comment