Paul – BirdsGV

Both wood ducks and hooded mergansers are back in the creek and beginning to briefly check the nest boxes. In past years they’ve been closer to the start of egg laying by now but so far none have spent more than a couple of minutes in a nest box. Some landscape work in our back yard will go on for another two weeks and that has probably kept them away. However, we’ve also noticed fewer ducks in recent years. Maybe climate? Normal cycle of ups and downs?

I’ll let you know of course about any significant developments.

As always, the cameras are not streaming at this time of year because there’s nothing to see 99% of the time except wood shavings:

During the first weeks, ducks visit the nest boxes sporadically and very briefly as they look for a good nest site. Later when laying starts they still are not in there very much. A laying duck will be in the nest for around a half hour up to maybe 2 hours per day during the two weeks (roughly) that that she is laying, so again, you’d have to be lucky to see anything. After a nest box has eggs and a duck starts incubating she will be inside almost all of the time for a month and I’ll turn on the streaming then. Until that time I look at the motion-detection recordings each day to see if anything has happened.

The “Duck” in the South nest

When I bumped the South nest box as I started to install its camera, I was surprised by a flutter from inside. I backed off since I didn’t want to scare the duck more than I already had. I came back an hour later, tapped and then jiggled the nest box, and there was no response. She was gone so I opened the side door. The box was almost full-to-the-top with leaves on top of the wood shavings.

I took out the leaves and thankfully there were no little baby “ducks”. Here’s a picture from a motion-capture event a few hours after I’d removed the leaves and installed the camera, when the “duck” that was making a nest in there came back:

The nest box is now moved away from the tree limb the squirrel was probably using to jump down and get in. We’ll see. My next move if needed is to cover the roof and front with plastic so the pesky thing cannot get a grip.

Years ago a gray squirrel had babies in the East nest just before the ducks were due to return. That of course would keep ducks away until the squirrels were grown and left the nest, so I didn’t want them in there. The adults bite outdoor wires that I then have to splice, gnaw on deck railings, urinate on windows as they climb on walls, etc. Yes they are cute and entertaining, but annoying too and we have WAY too many in some years. Thus, when I first discovered the squirrel nest I had this thought: “Okay, well, the baby ducks go into the creek … so maybe baby squirrels should go into the creek too!” But I couldn’t do it and would not do it that way in any case. I left them alone and the did grow up and leave, to no doubt create part of the population explosion.

Photos:

This is the West nest box after a recent snowfall. The creek was free from ice and some ducks were around. The South nest box is also in this photo. It’s on the other side of the creek half way between the fence and the creek. Just above the top of the trellis on the left, look for the post and the raccoon barrier and above that the rectangular nest box mostly hidden by twigs.

A hooded merganser pair. We see them almost every day. The female has briefly visited two of the nest boxes.

A pair of wood ducks considering the East nest. The female is in the tree. Wood ducks frequently perch in trees which seems odd the first time you see it; however their nests can be up very high (80 feet!) in tree cavities, so it makes sense that they are good at perching. The green color is plastic fencing to protect raspberry canes from winter bunnies.

The male wood ducks never go into nest boxes but are always nearby when their mate is inside. (Two mallard males in the creek.)

A flicker spent one night in the South nest box. It’s curled up in a ball and asleep on the left. It was hanging onto the mesh rather than sitting on the wood shavings, even while asleep. It’s a very colorful bird but the camera is using its infrared night light so these images have no color. Here is a color picture of a flicker.

At about 10:20 CDT on Thursday June 5th the hooded merganser called her ducklings to follow her out into the world. There were 8 merganser and 6 wood duck ducklings.

One of the ducklings was very late getting out of the nest box, but finally it jumped out and found its way down to the creek many minutes after the family had left the area. It was joined by another little wood duck that got separated from the group somehow. They peeped loudly and tried to swim upstream but the current was strong and they weren’t sure where to go.

The mother duck led her family back and forth upstream for a while, then eventually went downstream past the place where the two were stranded. We saw one of the ducklings join in. Maybe the other one did too.

After a last look back, …

… the family went downstream. There are some wide quiet places and eventually a lake in that direction. We almost never see them again. (22 second video)

Author: Paul

2026 Slow Start

The “Duck” in the South nest

Photos:

West Nest Jump Day

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Camera Issues – resolved