We returned yesterday from almost three weeks of touring, birding, and visiting from here to Arizona. One of the first things I did once the van was unloaded was to check the pond for baby waterfowl. When we left we had a nesting Canada Goose, at least one nesting Wood Duck, and possible nesting by a Mallard and a Blue-winged Teal. Hatching, if it occurred, would have been in our absence. The pond remained empty until Thursday afternoon when a hen Wood Duck appeared with 25 ducklings. There were five pairs of Wood Ducks on the pond for much of April. I suspect more than one hen put eggs in the nest from which this very large brood of ducks hatched. The photo shows 22 ducklings. Three were out of range. Birding in Montana, at Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge, by the way, was fantastic. I'm working on the photos.