Tiny Ducks

Anyone know what kind of a duck would look to be the size of a baby duck…and have a flotilla of even tinier baby ducks.  We saw this site on Racoon Creek, just upriver from the Montgomery Lock and Dam on the Ohio.  Too distant to see it well but the mama duck was distracting a predator, perhaps a mink,  from her babies when we noticed her.  Thinking she was a baby duck or goose, we were surprised to discover a tiny group of critters returning to her protection when she called to them after the ordeal.  Tried taking a photo but they were too far across the creek.  We don’t think the mama was more than about six inches long.  It was almost unreal.