Move over, Oscars: It’s time for the Cottage Life Waterfowl Awards

Mama mergansers are known for taking care of the offspring of others. This is why you might see a string of two dozen blended-brood ducklings trailing behind a single female. We don’t know how she does it—and all while keeping that red hairdo on point.

There’s a reason these birds get so damn chatty while flying south in a V-formation: young geese and their parents are communicating. Juvenile geese are naggy during the trip. They haven’t had much time to build up fat stores, so they’re always hungry. (“Can we stop for ice cream, Mom? But I want McDonald’s! Are we there yet?”)

This big-headed, tiny-eyed bird is a born risk-taker. Ducklings launch themselves from their 40-foot-high tree cavity nests one day after they’re born. It’s not as daring as, say, driving off a cliff on a motorcycle in order to commandeer a pilotless plane mid-flight. But still.

Aww. That looks awkward. But you’d be happy for a spatula-shaped, two-and-a-half-inch nose if it allowed you to skim insect prey from the surface of the water more efficiently. Like mallards, shovelers are “dabbling” (not “diving”) ducks.

Nature Scrapbook writer Tim Tiner calls this species “the most resplendent of all waterfowl.” Even though the wood duck’s plumage is drab through the non-breeding season, we’d still date him. Don’t judge.