PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH
Visitor host Elizabeth Southward said it was the second lot of ducklings at the gardens this year. The ducks came and went regularly and each year a different set made their home in the gardens.
This year an unusual white duck had joined the flock, she said.
Mallards, the most common form of New Zealand duck, lay from late July to September and may renest — lay a replacement clutch following the loss of a nest — from October to early November.
Ducklings leave the nest as soon as all are dry. They follow the mother closely, but feed themselves.
They gain their first flight feathers at about 7-9 weeks old.
