If you have a snapping turtle in your pond I would expect your ducklings to have a slim chance of leaving.
Before I renovated my pond I watched a snapper grab one of my domestic pekin hens by a foot.
I climbed into the water and took the duck away from the turtle. She was sore for a few days afterwards
and I never saw her get into the pond again. It was a week before the others would go back in.
It would also be helpful if the theme music from
Jaws started playing at the pond every time the snapper began stalking a duckling or duck.
