This is the moment a couple films the cute scene of a row of young ducks swimming in a Canadian lake before one is grabbed and apparently eaten by a larger aquatic bird called a loon.

The incident was filmed at Algonquin Provincial Park in the Canadian province of Ontario by Daniel Weerdenburg and his wife, not named.

Daniel told Newsflash: “My wife and I were backcountry camping. After a long day of paddling, we were taking a rest on a big rock right in the water. We watched my dog, Kaia, chase these ducks and then run off into the woods.

“The ducks swam by us silently and out of nowhere they were spooked and started swimming for their lives. Then we heard and saw the loon (that was huge) start attacking the young duck, then swallow it whole.”

Daniel, who comes from Ontario and shares camping and survival videos on his YouTube channel, added: “It was unbelievable and definitely something I have never seen before.”

Loons are a group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia.

Their freshwater diet primarily consists of fish such as pike, perch, and trout, and their saltwater diet primarily consists of rockfish, flounder, sea trout, herring, haddock, and Gulf silverside.

When there is a lack of fish, they prey on crustaceans, crayfish, snails, leeches, insect larvae, frogs, and occasionally aquatic plant matter. They have also been known to eat ducklings.

In the footage, the aquatic bird is seen surfacing just as a row of ducks swims in the water, and apparently feasts on a young duck after catching it.

The camerawoman initially laughs as the spooked ducks flee at speed across the water, but gasps in shock when the couple realises the loon had “got a duck”.