The Case of the Missing Ducklings

For the last several summers we've watched with pleasure as ducks raise ducklings in at least one of our neighborhood parks.  This photo was taken two years ago when it appeared that two couples had a total of 16 offspring between them.

But this year we spied one couple early in the summer in the park, but they seemed either not to next, or not to hatch babies. 

That's why we were very pleased when Lee spied two families last week gliding around the ponds, looking very happy.

This morning they weren't there, or in any other nearby park.  Perhaps they had been just passing through on their way somewhere else.  I'd like to think that their stop meant that the parents were showing the young ones possible places to nest next year.

But who knows?  And who knows why no ducks were successful in nesting there this year?  We have had an explosion of the racoon population, and I wonder if the greedy beasts might have feasted on the eggs before they hatched. 

Tha balance of nature is a tricky thing, as we are learning as the climate changes.