Monday, May 25, 2009

Wood Ducks on Memorial Day

We witnessed the most amazing thing this morning!!! Right from our own backyard!
We saw the female woodduck going in and out of the nest box Chuck built for her in February.
We had seen her flying in the box at the end of April for the first time.
Here she is flying into the box.
Now she is on her way back out of the box.
She was doing this over and over so we knew something was up. From what I have read - when she is on the eggs she will only come out a couple times a day to feed.
She is in the pond calling to her chicks to come out of the nest box.


The chick is peeking out of the box.

Another one.

At one day old - they take that flying leap to their mother.

Weeee!!

We saw about ten of them jump.

They were swimming in the pond afterwards, but we decided to leave them alone as not to scare them away.
And Chuck thought the box was just to make me happy - boy did it ever!!!!!


A video of the female going into the nest box one last time before coming out and calling the young ducklings to join her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0-7QLyeMc4

A video capturing the last one coming out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIcl6b0M3G4

1 comment:

Leah said...

OMG! I'm so glad you were home to capture this.

Great pics of baby ducks leaping out of the box :-)