Doris the Duck and Her Nine Ducklings: BBC Secret Garden’s Cutest Survival Story
Monday, 6 April 2026
Here’s the story of Doris the duck and her nine eggs, as told on the BBC’s new nature programme, Secret Garden. Narrated by David Attenborough, it shows how the ducklings “talk” to each other and so trigger hatching at the same time, so that all nine get to experience life simultaneously. Of course, the mother duck does not have the father around, and looking after nine ducklings present her with a set of big challenges. The first one is getting the ducklings from the nest to the water. As they jump down, you will be forgiven for keeping fingers, toes and everything crossed, but thanks to the cushioning effect of their downy feathers, they all make it to where they want to go intact. Phew!
Mum Doris is waiting at
the bottom of the drop to escort them the last of the way to the water, and once they make it, she gets
them into hiding as soon as she can.
There are predators about, and she wants to make sure they all her ducklings
survive! This is a beautiful piece of
film-making from the BBC and I look forward to watching the rest of the episodes
on iPlayer. Let’s keep our fingers (at
least) crossed that Doris and her ducklings make it through!
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