Sometime in the next few weeks the N.D. Game and Fish department will release its numbers on duck broods.

They’ve had biologists in the field counting little quackers and averaging it all out to determine the average brood size. This tells us how well the nesting season went and what to expect in the fall hunting season.

I don’t know what the offical findings will be but this Mama shoveler seemed to have had a good spring. I count 9 little ducklings swimming with her.

Photo taken near Chase Lake National Wildlife refuge this past weekend.