Merganser family on its way

Yesterday at 10:35 the hooded merganser called her ducklings and they quickly left their nest box … except for one. The last duckling couldn’t find the door and kept jumping up against the walls while the rest went downstream. (They go for the light, but with bright light coming in through the opening the other walls can look bright too, especially in a human-built nest box made with flat boards.) The left-behind duckling kept peeping loudly (good job!) and momma duck then brought her entourage back just as the last one finally found the door … and it tumbled down the bank to join the others. We got some footage of this event so a new video is obviously mandatory, coming soon.

There weren’t many people on the chat that I set up at the last minute, but it did work quite well for Q&A and comments. I’ll set it up again (with a better link for joining) for the East nest jump day, also coming soon.

When I checked the East nest yesterday evening none of the eggs were pipped (slightly broken) yet so hatching is still not imminent. This duck has struggled to manage the nest with eggs left uncovered in corners and not much of a down blanket. Whenever I’ve checked, many eggs have been toasty warm but some have been overnight-temperature cold. That may explain the longer-than-expected incubation time.

For more about wood duck and hooded merganser blended families, use the “Ducks Info” button on the birdsgv.com web site (scroll down to find it) then choose the “Eggs & Dumping” topic in the heading.