JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — All hands on "duck"!
A mother duck was in the right place at the right time when her ducklings hatched. Baptist Medical Center Beaches OBGYN shared a video on Facebook showing the momma duck taking a stroll through its labor and delivery atrium, followed by her 10 newborn ducklings.
The ducks were safely escorted out of the building by the Beaches OBGYN staff, including nurse manager Sam and lactation consultant Loretta.
"We're still 'quacking' up over this sweet story," Beaches OBGYN wrote. "Congrats, Mama! We'll see you in six weeks for your follow-up."
The hospital isn't sure exactly how the ducks made their way inside the labor and delivery unit, but spring is in the air, and that means plenty of new babies. Perhaps her maternal instincts were taking over!
Scroll down to view the full video from the Baptist Beaches Facebook page.
According to National Geographic, female mallards (which the duck in the video appears to be) lay up to a dozen eggs in nests on the ground near water and line their nests with warm down plucked from their own undercoats. Within a day after hatching, ducklings can run, swim and forage for food.
A group of ducklings is called a brood. Outside the nest, the brood sticks close by the mother for safety, often seen following behind her in a neat, single-file line.