Normally it is hard to photograph the Nodding Trilliums since the blossom hangs underneath, but on a very windy day, the leaves were blowing upwards so the bloom was exposed.
Nodding Trillium Blossom Seen
Last year, the female wood duck kept her ducklings at my pond for several days before marching them off across the field, but this year they only stayed a day before the tribe left. I want a GPS tracker on her to see where she takes them instead of staying at my pond until they can fly in about 9 weeks. There is no big body of water very close to my pond so I don’t know where she takes them. They can scoot very fast across the water but not walking through tall grasses. The estimate is only 30 to 40% survive predators during their first 90 days.
One Day of Swimming Only
Baby wood ducks usually leave the nest the morning after hatching, and that’s when my ducklings left. With the ducklings very active the next morning and practicing their climbing skills, the mother left the box and called for the chicks. Last year, the duckling all left the box in under a minute, but this year the ducklings did not win any prize for a quick exit when one poor duckling kept jumping to the light shone on the back wall instead of the opening. I just wanted to grab the poor guy and help him out the hole.
Ducklings Leaving
After waiting patiently (or really not), the baby wood ducks finally started to hatch today as the first chicks began appearing out from the mother duck. I was worried when she had left the nest for most of one night when something scared her out of the box that maybe they wouldn’t hatch or that a racoon would get the eggs, so it was great to see the ducklings hatching. Of the 17 eggs laid, 14 of them hatched.
Hatching Has Started