First of the season - paradise duck family

Paradise ducklings with their distinctive attractive colouring are among the most striking of the duck families.

The parents are very protective. This pair raise ducklings every year and defend their section of the river fiercely against all comers - I've even seen them sending black swans on their way, even though the swans are so much bigger.

They are very vocal and call to each other and the ducklings, as well as honking at trespassers while they chase them off.

So far this pair of birds have raised over thirty ducklings in the last 5 years, which is quite a feat, when some of the other pairs on the river raise only one or sometimes lose them all to rats, cats, eels etc.