Monroe Outdoors
Whenever we encourage wildlife to live in our yards, we are unwittingly setting the stage for wildlife dramas to take place in front of our eyes. Recently Jeff and Cindy Peterson enjoyed the rare opportunity of witnessing a brood of wood ducks leaving a nesting box.
As is often the case, most dramatic encounters we have with wildlife take place when we least expect it. In this case, Jeff and Cindy were gardening one recent spring afternoon when Jeff just happened to notice a female wood duck and five fledglings swimming below one of the nesting boxes he had erected along the shoreline of their High Falls Lake property. As they stood transfixed by the drama playing out in front of them, first one and then another duckling leaped from the entrance hole of the box and plopped down in the water below.
What they were witnessing was the culmination of an exodus that actually began hours before. Based on what is known about wood duck behavior, here is a re-creation what most likely took place out of the sight of the Petersons.
Some 36 hours earlier, the hen began calling to her young still inside their eggs. Initially she uttered a one-note call once every five seconds. Two hours before hatching the cadence of her calling reached seven to nine notes per second.
Once most of the eggs hatched, the hen brooded her young some 24 hours before they actually left the confines of the nesting box. During this time, the young were rambunctious and scampered around the tight confines of the nesting box.
More than likely, on the day the young left the nest, the hen temporarily abandoned her brood. While she was away, she fed and explored the route she would follow leading her ducklings to safety.
Fledgling wood ducks usually leave their nests between 9 a.m. and noon (the average departure date is 10 a.m.). Two other peak departure times are daybreak and dusk.
When the hen was ready for her young to leave, she made several brief visits to the entrance hole. Each appearance probably lasted anywhere from two to 10 minutes. Finally when she felt it was safe for her young to leave the nest box, she flew down to the water beneath the nest and began calling.
Upon hearing their mother’s calls, they instinctively started hopping upwards toward the entrance hole. As each fluffy duckling stood at the entrance hole, it made a peeping sound and jumped feet-first into the outside world. While it fell, its tail was spread and its tiny wings fluttered. Meanwhile, the hen uttered a kuh,kuh, kuh call.
In most cases, an entire brood can successfully exit their nest in less than five minutes. Unfortunately, this did not happen in this case.
If any of the young have problems leaving the nests, hens sometimes linger around their nest sites for hours waiting for their entire brood to leave the nest box.
The departure witnessed by the Petersons was complicated by a boat making its way along the shoreline toward the nesting box. Jeff waved at the boater hoping that he would alter his course. Eventually he did ease his way out from shore and away from the female and her flotilla of youngsters.
This only acerbated the situation and some of the ducklings became separated from the female and the rest of the ducklings.
After the ducks and the boater left, Jeff inspected the box and found it contained four eggs---only one displayed any cracks. A subsequent check two days later revealed that two eggs hatched and no young remained inside.
It makes sense that ducklings are at great risk of being injured when they leave their nests. However, apparently most fledglings come through this seemingly death-defying event unscathed. The Peterson’s brood only had to drop 4 - 4.5 feet before landing in the water. Water landings are the safest. However, wood ducks often nest in cavities upwards of 90 to 100 feet above the forest floor or other hard surfaces. What happens when young depart such lofty nests?
A biologist reported that he saw a duckling leap to the ground and suffer a rough landing. This was caused by the duckling striking a branch as it plummeted down. This resulted in the duckling landing on its back. The hard landing seemed to stun the bird. However, in just a few seconds, it recovered and scampered off to join its mother and nest mates.
In another instance, a duckling fell 26 feet onto a concrete sidewalk. It bounced several inches into the air and promptly dashed away.
Cindy and Jeff are hoping that all of the ducklings that hatched in their backyard were eventually reunited with their mother and will one day be flying over High Falls Lake.
We may never witness an exciting wildlife adventure like this in our yards. However, if we provide our wildlife neighbors with the proper habitat, we too can begin filling our own treasure trove with memories of the wildlife dramas taking place in our yards every day of the year.
Terry Johnson is a retired Program Manager of the Georgia Nongame-Endangered Wildlife Program. He has written the informative column ‘Monroe Outdoors’ for the Reporter for many years. His book, “A Journey to Discovery,” is available at The Reporter. Email him at tjwoodduck@bellsouth.net.
