Ninth Morning
Weather - Clear, 79F SW winds 4mph - humidity 93%
Sunrise - 5:48am
Another 4:00am wakeup. It’s not getting any easier waking up this early. I get to CBEC, hoping the road is not flooded which will cause me to have to go to plan B (alternate transportation) to get in. As I drive further down the road I can see it’s ok. I get to the nest box at about 5:08am. Unlike yesterday morning, this morning is pretty quiet. Only an eastern kingbird is singing as I get setup. This morning is not very pleasant, it’s 79 degrees and the humidity is at 93%. Thank goodness there is a slight breeze coming through every once in a while.
She doesn’t wait for sunrise, it’s only 5:30am when she leaves the nest box. I barely got a picture at this hour.
It’s so warm I have to take the poncho off. It has helped conceal part of my face, but I just can’t keep it on in this humidity.
No drama with the red-winged blackbirds, they are back to their perches singing and calling, with only an occasional disagreement. It seems the eastern kingbirds are taking the stage this morning. There is one on a branch in the picture above (lower right). Two of them have a mid air battle at one point.
So, what’s going to happen this morning I wonder. Is she out for her morning meal only or will she be calling them out today. I ponder this when all of a sudden I hear her in the canal, next to the nest box - CALLING!
It’s 6 something, can’t look at my watch, don’t want to move. She continues to call.
The thoughts going through my mind -
Finally, it’s happening, all these hours and the time has come.
I get to sleep in tomorrow!!
She is still calling. I’m watching for the ducklings to emerge from the box. Not yet. Since I have never witnessed this before I’m really not sure how long it takes. It seems like it has been a long time, she’s still calling, but no ducklings.
After what I assume is 3-5 minutes - the calling stops. What’s up with this? I wasn’t expecting that.
It’s quiet. Then at 7:11 she flies back into the nest box.
Maybe she’s going in to check on them and will be coming back out and calling them to come out as well. It’s quiet. More and more time goes by, still quiet. As was pointed out to me - she would only be calling to her chicks, not a mate, not another duck, only her chicks. Is there still a possibility that today is the day? I wait, and wait.
A female red-winged blackbird goes by.
A northern mockingbird stops by.
I continue to wait. Don’t want to miss it if today is the day.
Then two fish crows come in, flying around me and the other birds go into their alarm calls. This continues for a couple of minutes. Crows are always bad news for nesting birds and those with young. There are a couple of mallard families on the lake, and even they are obviously concerned about the situation.
The crows finally move on. It quiets down. I wait. My patience is truly being tested. I am sitting on a short folding stool. I have to stretch my legs out every now and again. I wish I was about 10 years younger. I forgot to take some Advil this morning. Frankly, I’m surprised my body isn’t complaining more than it is though. I decide to stay longer than I have before, but I’m looking at my watch more often than I should.
I wait till almost 10:00am and decide to pack it up.
So why was she calling and then go back in for the day? I spoke to Judy and Jim about this. We don’t know for sure, obviously, but assumptions are:
Maybe they have hatched but aren’t ready (dry and enough hours old). She may have gone out to feed and called just in case they were ready to go.
Maybe this was a test run, so to speak. That they are in the process of pipping (hatching process) and she is letting them know this is what the plan is for tomorrow.
We just don’t know, but it does seem like tomorrow will be THE DAY.
They are calling for windy conditions tomorrow, the tide may be up (setting up alternate transportation again, just in case). Jim is also going to bend back more of the grasses so there isn’t any chance of them blocking the view of the box.
Tomorrow might be my last chance. I see on my phone there is a hurricane statement that may affect this area on Friday.
The saga continues….
She left the nest box at 5:30am and returned at 7:11am.
I stayed approximately 5 hours.
