Wood duck deserting behaviour

[Megan Mears <>]

In the absence of swanlings at my local North Watson pond, I have been keeping an eye on ducklings this year. There's one pair with 12 ducklings right now (Australian Wood Ducks). The ducklings are quite big now, however  5-6 weeks ago I saw both parent ducks fly out of the pond, leaving the young deserted for anl hour before both returned, quacked a little and made out like nothing had happened. Having mother hen/duck tendencies myself I hung about the pond, the whole time, waiting to see if and when the parent ducks returned. I was relieved they came back.

Does anyone know if this is a common behaviour? I did not see any predator bird chase or scare the ducks though I was taking photos and might easily have missed it. 

Thanks everyone,

Megan Mears