Hi all. Haven't been birding much, but at home I am taking care of 11
mallard ducklings, 1 wood duckling, and 6 merganser ducklings. All came
in as one day olds. All were displaced/orphaned. But I have a question
for the list: would a mother merganser guide her babies to the water by
flying herself while the babies follow on the ground?  (Mother
mergansers build their nest in trees). The reason I am asking is that I
believe mergansers are not that great walkers on land. The merganser
babies were found near a busy road but an adult duck was seen circling
overhead, but made no attempt to land, even after 5 hours. The well
intentioned people had corralled the babies in a basket so they wouldn't
get hit on the road.  Anyways, still love reading the postings on the
list.  PS. For more wild critters, I also have a baby Ermine and 2 baby
squirrels. Regards,

Helena Nordstrom
NorthStream Wildlife Services
Burlington, VT