Duck, dip dive! Adorable fluffy chicks take a giant leap of faith to be in the water with their mother for the first time since hatching

This is the moment adorable fluffy chicks leapt into the water to swim with their mother for the first time since hatching.

Hooded merganser ducklings dive into the water within 24 hours of hatching, but only after their mother deems it safe.

Steve Furcich, who captured the magnificent scene in Lake Bavaria, Minnesota, recalled how the mother duck was 'calling to them' when the chicks started to leap from their nest.

Hooded merganser chicks, which dive for small fish to survive, will jump more than 50ft from the nest to be with their mother and in some cases will walk over half a mile to the nearest body of water.

It is unclear how far the ducks Furcich observed traveled or how deep their jump was. The 66-year-old did, however, did say the sight 'never ceases to amaze me'.

A group of hooded merganser ducklings swim with their mother after diving from the nest in Lake Bavaria, Minnesota

A hooded merganser duckling is seen during his first swim, which takes place 24 hours after hatching

A duckling is seen diving from the nest in Lake Bavaria, Minnesota

A hooded merganser duckling floats through the air after diving from the nest

'The chicks all hatch within 24 hours of each other and then all jump out of the nest 24 hours later, but not until the mother is outside the nest and calling to them,' Furcich said.

'How this all happens on time and according to plan never ceases to amaze me.'

'These ducks have muscles that can change the shape of their eyeballs so that they have perfect vision underwater,' the photographer added.

'Birds can be harder to photography because their movements can be faster and less predictable.

'A good photographer is like a football player. They anticipate where the ball will be going instead of reacting to and chasing after it.'

Hooded mergansers can be found all across the eastern half of the US, with the species' core breeding range being near the Great Lakes, according to the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas.

There is also a disjunct population of hooded mergansers in the Pacific Northwest.

Hooded merganser chicks, which dive for small fish to survive, will jump more than 50ft from the nest to be with their mother

A mother duck will call to her young, prompting the fluffy chicks scramble to the entrance of the nests 

Ducks dive from a bird box into the water in Lake Bavaria

Ducklings will leave the nest within 24 hours of hatching, after their mother checks the surrounding area for potential threats

Female hooded mergansers often their lay eggs in nests belonging to other ducks, All About Birds reported.

They lay roughly 13 eggs in a clutch, but nests have been found with up to 44 eggs in them. 

Ducklings will then leave the nest within 24 hours of hatching, after their mother checks the surrounding area for potential threats.

She will then call to her young, prompting the fluffy chicks scramble to the entrance of the nests. They will then flutter to the ground to join her for a swim. 

The oldest recorded hooded merganser was a male and lived to be at least 14 years and six months old. 

He was originally banded in Minnesota in 1995 and shot in Mississippi in 2009, the outlet reported.

Photographer Steve Furcich captured this duckling mid-flight as it dove to join its mother in the water for the first time 

Two ducklings are captured jumping from their nest near Lake Bavaria in Minnesota

Pictured is a hooded merganser duckling during its first swim near Lake Bavaria in Minnesota