The Moment a Mother Duck Left Her Ducklings Behind — A Long-Term Observation Record

This video contains a moment that I did not fully understand when I filmed it.

At the time, I could only record what was happening in front of me: a mother Eastern Spot-billed Duck repeatedly returning for ducklings that remained below a river barrier, while the rest of her family was already above it.

Only after continuing to observe the same family in the following days did I realize what this video had captured.

This was the day when the family permanently separated.

And hidden within nearly three hours of observation was the point when the mother stopped returning for some of her ducklings.

I did not know they had been abandoned when I filmed this

I want to make one thing clear from the beginning.

I am not an ornithologist or a bird expert.

What I have is a very large collection of continuous field observations. I have spent more than 1,000 days observing Eastern Spot-billed Duck families and have recorded the growth and behavior of more than 100 families.

I identify individual mothers mainly by differences in their feather patterns, including their tertial feathers, and assign identification codes to the families so that I can follow the same mother and ducklings over time.

This family is recorded as the Ag family.

And one of the most important things I have learned from long-term observation is this:

A mother duck leaving her ducklings behind does not necessarily mean that she has abandoned them.

I have seen enough unusual reunions that I am very careful about making that conclusion.

Duck families sometimes do things I would never have expected

Over the years, I have recorded ducklings that appeared to have been abandoned, only to reunite with their mother several days later.

I have recorded ducklings surviving and continuing to grow without their mother.

I have even recorded an extraordinary case in which one family became divided into two groups in different locations. Instead of permanently choosing one group, the mother continued caring for both. She moved between the two locations over a period of days and repeatedly returned to the ducklings in each group.

I have seen situations that looked hopeless end in reunions that almost felt like miracles.

Because I have seen these things happen, I do not believe that a short scene of a mother swimming away is enough evidence to say:

"She abandoned them."

If someone showed me only such a scene, I would not believe that conclusion myself.

That is why I could not make that claim while filming this video.

Ten ducklings became divided into seven and three

On this day, the Ag mother had ten ducklings.

The family repeatedly attempted to move upstream over a river barrier.

Eventually, seven ducklings were above the barrier while three remained below.

But this was not simply a case of three weak ducklings being physically unable to climb.

Some of the ducklings that remained below had already shown that they could climb.

There were ducklings that climbed and later came back down or were swept back down. There were also strange moments when the mother returned for the ducklings, yet some of them did not seem willing to follow her upstream.

At times, their behavior almost looked like a refusal to continue.

Of course, I cannot know what a duckling was thinking or intending. I can only describe the behavior I recorded.

But that is exactly why I do not think this event can be explained simply as:

"The mother abandoned the three ducklings that could not climb."

The situation was much more complicated.

The mother kept coming back

What makes this record especially important to me is how long the mother continued trying.

She did not simply swim upstream with seven ducklings and disappear.

She came back.

Then she came back again.

And again.

The family tried to move upstream, became separated, reunited, and became separated again.

At different points, the mother returned all the way down to the ducklings.

At other times, she appeared to wait above while the ducklings attempted to climb by themselves.

This continued for hours.

And it had already begun during the previous day's observation.

Watching it in real time gave me very mixed feelings.

I wanted the entire family to remain together.

But there were also seven ducklings that had successfully moved upstream, while some of the others repeatedly remained below, came back down, or failed to continue with the family.

The mother had ten ducklings to care for.

From a human point of view, it is tempting to describe every return as "good" and leaving the three behind as "bad."

But while watching the family repeatedly move up and down, I began to wonder whether continuing this cycle indefinitely could also create risks for the rest of the family.

I do not know what the correct choice was.

More importantly, I do not know whether the mother experienced anything that we humans would call a "choice" or a "conflict."

I can only say that her behavior showed repeated attempts to keep the family together before those attempts finally stopped.

The final return was surprisingly quiet

There was no dramatic moment.

No attack.

No sudden emergency.

No obvious action that would immediately tell a viewer:

"This is the moment she abandoned them."

That is one reason this record is so interesting to me.

After the family had already become separated, the mother remained upstream for a long time. She appeared to wait for the ducklings to come up by themselves.

Later, she returned toward the barrier again.

The ducklings below were still there.

At one point, the mother stayed near the barrier and appeared to look toward the ducklings below from a distance.

But this time, she did not go all the way down to them.

Instead, she turned and began swimming upstream.

She continued upstream with the ducklings that were with her.

And she never returned to the three below.

At the time, I still did not know that this was the end.

To me, it was simply another event to record.

She might come back later.

She might come back tomorrow.

She might return several days later.

I had seen stranger things happen before.

So I kept observing.

I only understood this moment afterward

I continued following the Ag family on the following days.

Something had changed.

The mother no longer came down below the barrier to retrieve the separated ducklings.

In fact, she stopped coming down even to the area containing this barrier, despite repeatedly doing so during the previous observations.

That was when the meaning of this video gradually became clear.

The previous day's record.

This nearly three-hour record.

The following day's record.

And the observations after that.

When I connected them together, I could finally say with confidence that this video had captured the turning point.

The mother had stopped returning for those ducklings.

What looked like a quiet swim upstream eventually proved to have been the last departure.

Why a short edited clip cannot prove this

There is an important problem with telling this story.

I could edit the footage into a short video:

Three ducklings remain below.

The mother looks toward them.

She turns upstream.

She never comes back.

"The moment a mother duck abandoned her ducklings."

It would make a clear and powerful story.

But it would not be enough evidence for me.

If I had not personally made these observations and someone showed me only that edited sequence, I would still ask:

What happened an hour later?

What happened that evening?

Did she return the next morning?

Did they reunite several days later?

Are we certain that the mother seen later is the same individual?

These questions matter because I have already recorded unusual cases in which the obvious interpretation turned out to be wrong.

That is why long-term records matter.

Identifying the same family is also important

Another difficulty is that many Eastern Spot-billed Duck families live in this area.

More than 30 families can appear here during a single breeding season.

When many mothers and ducklings are present at the same time, simply seeing "a mother duck with ducklings" the next day is not enough.

I record individual mothers by their feather patterns and assign identification codes to their families. This allows me to compare observations across different days and follow changes in individual families.

For someone casually watching the videos, however, identifying the same mother among many similar-looking ducks can become extremely difficult.

To fully verify everything behind my conclusion, a viewer would need to follow the long recordings from the previous day, this day, and the following days, while also keeping track of the family's identification.

That is obviously a lot to ask of anyone.

But the records exist.

For anyone who genuinely wants to examine the evidence in detail, I have preserved the original observation footage rather than only the short edited story.

This is why I keep long, almost unedited videos

Most people discover my duck families through short videos.

For those videos, I edit hours of observation into a short sequence and sometimes use music and sound effects to make the event easier to understand.

But a 30-second scene may have hours, days, or even longer periods of observation behind it.

Nature does not always provide a clear beginning and ending.

A mother swimming away does not necessarily mean abandonment.

A duckling remaining below a barrier does not necessarily mean it cannot climb.

A separated family does not necessarily remain separated.

Sometimes the meaning of an event becomes clear only days later.

That is why I also preserve long observation videos with very little editing.

They are not designed to tell the cleanest story.

They are records of what actually happened while I was there.

I was still hoping the mother would return

There is another detail that I think is important.

My notes from the following observations were written at the time, before I knew the final outcome.

I was still searching for the missing ducklings.

I was still considering the possibility that the mother might return.

I did not go back afterward and rewrite those records to make them fit the conclusion I know today.

That is important to me.

The observation came first.

The conclusion came later.

In fact, my experience with previous duck families made me more reluctant to call this abandonment, not less.

I had already seen too many unexpected reunions.

That is why I continued waiting for evidence.

And that is also why, in this particular case, I am confident in describing what happened as abandonment.

A difficult part of life for these duck families

This is a sad record.

I would always prefer to see every duckling remain safely with its mother and grow up.

But this area supports a very large number of Eastern Spot-billed Duck families every year.

There are conflicts between families. Mothers fight other mothers. Ducklings can become separated. Predators take ducklings. Entire families can disappear.

I have also recorded ducklings surviving situations that seemed impossible.

All of these things exist together.

The cute ducklings sleeping beside their mother are part of nature.

A mother desperately protecting her young is part of nature.

A family unexpectedly reuniting after several days is part of nature.

And unfortunately, a mother eventually continuing with some ducklings while leaving others behind is also part of the same world.

I do not want to turn this into a simple story about a "cruel mother."

After watching how many times she returned, how long she waited, and how complicated the behavior of the ducklings themselves was, that interpretation does not match what I observed.

At the same time, I also do not want to hide what eventually happened because it is uncomfortable.

The three ducklings were left behind.

The mother stopped returning.

And because I continued observing the same family afterward, I was able to recognize that the quiet moment recorded in this video had been a major turning point in their lives.

A record whose meaning was discovered later

When I filmed this video, I thought I was recording another complicated day in the life of the Ag family.

I did not know that one of the most important moments in their story was happening in front of the camera.

That meaning appeared only later.

Perhaps that is what I find most valuable about this record.

The important moment was not dramatic.

Without the observations before and after it, it would be almost impossible to recognize.

But because the footage was preserved, and because I continued following the family, I can now return to this recording and understand what happened.

This is not simply footage of ducklings being left behind.

It is a record of a mother returning again and again, a family repeatedly trying and failing to remain together, and eventually reaching a point after which the mother no longer returned.

For me, that long process is just as important as the final result.

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Species: Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha)

Family identification: Ag family

Filming date & evidence footage code: 0509G (May 9, 2026)

The detailed timestamps and observation notes for this video are included below.

Timestamp Notes 00:00 3-minute highlights 03:01 Ag10-2 — Climbing the weir, starting midway One duckling can't make it up... Note: In this scene, I confirmed that all 10 ducklings are capable of climbing all the way up the steps. In particular, the one I was worried about yesterday can climb up too. 04:32 Tries climbing again and again, but gets swept off at the top and falls back down... Note: This might actually be intentional. I've often seen ducklings do this when they don't seem to want to go upstream. Note: From a quick check, it successfully climbed at least four times, only to get swept back down again. 05:20 The duckling made it up, and the mother came over, but it was swept all the way back down 06:02 The mothers come over to check on them... What will happen? Note: 8 ducklings appear to be above... so maybe 9 in total? But since yesterday, one duckling has tended to stay farther downstream on its own, almost as if refusing to go, so I'm not sure. 08:38 Rare two-shot of a Common Sandpiper and a duckling 09:15 Found the 10th duckling! All 10 are alive, but the family is split: 8 above, 2 below... 17:22 The mother duck came back for them! But... 18:36 One duckling still won't rejoin the family... Why? 20:17 It stumbled and ended up rejoining the family. The mother waited for it too Note: Still, its behavior is puzzling and a little worrying... 21:34 Mother duck gives a warning display — all 10 ducklings seen together 24:23 Getting ready for a nap — relaxing observation 32:15 They set off again. They didn't rest for very long 36:41 Climbing the weir again Note: Common Sandpiper cameo lol. Confirmed that all 10 ducklings can climb to the top of the first step. Maybe Duckling 1 isn't injured and is simply the youngest of the brood. 38:56 Duckling 1 goes back downstream. It looks almost like it's refusing to continue 42:12 7 ducklings climbed up, but 3 couldn't — or wouldn't? Note: The 3 below often split into groups of 2 and 1. One duckling's persistent desire to keep swimming around is especially puzzling. 55:13 The 3 ducklings below are together now... but the mother and the others are above 1:00:29 ★ The mothers came back for them!!! 1:01:03 But is one duckling refusing to rejoin them? Very puzzling behavior... Note: This is one of the ducklings that stayed below. Yesterday, however, a duckling that was able to climb showed similar behavior: when the mother came back, it went off and climbed upstream by itself again... This looks somewhat similar. I really don't understand this behavior... 1:07:03 Scary! A fish? It finally rejoined the family, but... Note: Catfish? Carp? Since the duckling wasn't preyed on afterward, I think it was probably a carp, but this was terrifying. 1:08:37 Third attempt at climbing the weir... 1:13:04 They made it up, but some were swept back down... Note: The one that climbed later looks like the duckling that hasn't seemed quite right since yesterday. It looks slightly paler, although I may be imagining it. If it is the same duckling, this confirms that it can climb up. 1:17:00 In the end: 3 below, 7 above, and the mother doesn't come back for quite a while Note: I expected her to return again, so I stayed and watched the 3 ducklings below for a while. 1:41:23 The mother duck came back down for them again! 1:47:02 Fourth attempt at climbing the weir — this time using a different route... 1:48:58 All 10 made it up to the first step, but... the mother gives up and goes back down 1:53:59 Fifth attempt at climbing the weir... 1:55:59 This may have been the moment the mother left them behind... 3 below, 7 above Note: After this, she stopped coming back down. 2:00:42 One duckling keeps wanting to swim around while the other two rest... Note: There have been two past catfish predation incidents in this area, so it worries me. On the other hand, there have also been several cases of small ducklings staying here without their mother and surviving as they grew up. So overall, I think this is actually a relatively safe area... but it's still scary. 2:11:01 The mother and the others returned to the weir... but instead of coming down, they headed upstream... Note: I could hear the ducklings calling, and the mother seemed to spend a long time looking back toward them... Perhaps this was the point when she made her decision. Note: Since yesterday, this mother has made unusually persistent efforts to avoid leaving any ducklings behind, even compared with other mothers I've observed... so part of me wonders whether this outcome might actually be for the best. Also, there are 3 ducklings below rather than just 1, and their behavior almost feels like a choice of their own. On the other hand, yesterday there was also a duckling that seemed determined to go upstream. Perhaps the family simply couldn't avoid splitting up... 2:17:25 Ag upper group of 7 heads upstream for the first time in a while... Note: They pass the catfish area. Judging from their behavior yesterday and today, they don't seem to have encountered a catfish here. Note: I think this is the first time since coming down the weir yesterday that the mother has decided to return this far upstream. 2:23:41 Two male Eastern Spot-billed Ducks come ashore — does the Ag mother move to the opposite bank to avoid them? 2:26:54 The father!? The mother doesn't threaten him! Note: One of the two males from earlier. 2:32:13 Ag mother starts heading downstream, but turns around midway and goes back upstream Note: Is she not going to check on the ducklings below? Note: Another possibility is that she'll let the 7 ducklings nap upstream and then fly back, but unlike yesterday, they aren't settling down for a nap at all... 2:34:19 Common Sandpiper Note: Its legs looked yellow, which made me wonder whether it might be a Grey-tailed Tattler, so I filmed it for longer. I think it's a Common Sandpiper. 2:37:58 Turtle on the mysterious board — Ag upper 7 pass straight by Note: After this, I took a break and returned several hours later. I couldn't find the Ag family, though. Maybe they're sleeping somewhere? 2:40:15 Baby red-eared slider! Carp nearby 2:42:31 Two separated ducklings... heading downstream... It seems they still haven't reunited with the family Note: I couldn't find the third duckling. Since the 3 had already tended to split into 2 and 1, I don't know whether the missing one is still alive... 2:44:20 Ag mother and the upper group were farther upstream. It seems they aren't going back down... So... I've had very mixed feelings about Ag10 since yesterday. At least one concern has been resolved: I had worried that one duckling might simply be unable to climb, but it turns out that all of them can. However, 3 ducklings remained below without climbing and were eventually left behind, which gives me a bad feeling... With this pattern, even if the mother comes back down, the ducklings may still refuse to go upstream, leaving the family split anyway. On the other hand, there have been several past cases of ducklings surviving and growing up in the lower area without their mother — including a group of three siblings! So I don't want to give up hope. Also, I received information about another Eastern Spot-billed Duck family farther upstream, which I'll record as Bg4-2. In previous years, I would have gone to see them so I could document the mother's wing pattern, but this year I'm deliberately trying not to observe too much, so I've decided not to go. I'll still add them to my records. Apparently there were originally 5 ducklings, one was taken by a crow, and 4 remain? I also heard that the mother was behaving unusually, attacking and rejecting ducklings when they approached her. I'm leaving this here simply as a note. I didn't see them myself, so I don't know their exact age; for now, I'll record them as having hatched around the same time as Ag. Update: I was told that this new family had been found at an elementary school with 6 ducklings, was rescued, and then released into the river. Could it be that the mother escaped during the rescue and only the ducklings were released into the river? I don't know. I also need to decide how to label the Ag10 family after the split. In the past, I've used codes such as "Ag迷3" or "Ag捨3" for separated or abandoned ducklings, but judging from today's behavior, the ducklings themselves may have been choosing not to go upstream. The lower group also tends to split into 2 and 1. Since the situation isn't confirmed yet, I'll keep them recorded as Ag10 for now and refer to them simply as "Ag upper 7" and "Ag lower 3." There are too many duck families to keep track of individually, so I identify the mothers by their wing patterns (tertial feathers) and identification codes. Comparison chart ↓ https://okasinaikimono.blogspot.com/2026/05/duck-family-0509fag10-2.html