Generally, female diving ducks lay 5-15 eggs in vegetation, tree cavities, or rock crevices over or near the water. Because females do not start incubating a clutch until they lay their last egg, young develop simultaneously and all hatch at about the same time. Ducklings are covered with down, patterned with shades of yellow or brown to break up their body outlines. Their eyes are open, and they can swim and feed themselves soon after hatching. The group, called a brood, remains together until the ducklings can fly, usually 8-10 weeks after hatching.
Adults undergo a post-breeding molt, growing a new set of feathers.
Crows, raccoons and skunks eat the eggs. In Pennsylvania, the fall migration of waterfowl begins in late August, peaks in October, and ends in December. Some ducks winter in our state, but most go farther south. Diving ducks winter along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, across the southern states and in Mexico and Central America. Habitat is of prime importance to ducks.