Summary
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I have invested a lot of time in this endeavor (45 hours). My goal was to capture in pictures the wood duck ducklings exiting the nest box. This goal was not achieved, but I do not see it as wasted time. I had the opportunity to spend thirteen mornings with the birds, in their world, observing their behavior through sight and sound. I also collected data on this particular wood duck hen. I do plan another attempt next spring (early in the season, rather than late). I expect the data I have collected here will help me. Granted each hen is slightly different, but some things do not usually change.
As promised I am updating this page on 17 Jul -
Jim and I did our weekly wood duck nest check today. This is the only nest still in question for our team. As in past checks Jim very slowly opens the side panel to take a look inside, opening it only a crack, and who is looking back at him - the hen. She is still on the nest. We were not expecting that. It’s new information, but what does it mean? As you can see from our estimated hatch date (below), the outlying date for hatching would have been 12 Jul, which means the departure for the ducklings would have been 13 Jul. It is now four days after that.
Two possible scenarios (using data from the form shown below):
Most likely - None of the eggs are viable and she will be leaving the nest (giving up) any day.
Less likely - What if the four additional eggs we saw on 10 Jul are from a different hen than the one who laid the six eggs we noted on 5 Jun? We counted* 10 successfully hatched young on 5 Jun. Ok, math is not one of my strong points, but here it goes:
Hen 1 - 10 eggs hatched between 16 May and 30 May. Basing this on the assumption she was incubating as early as 17 Apr, since she didn’t flush from the nest each occasion we did a nest check (see form below).
Hen 2 - 6 eggs are laid between 17 May (hen 2 occupies nest same day first clutch leaves) and 31 May. She then abandoned the nest by 4 Jun (after only 19 days).
Hen 3 - 4 eggs are laid between 6 Jun and 10 Jul. Incubation starts 3-4 days before the last egg is laid, but since this is only 4 eggs we’ll give it the earliest date of 6 Jun. Incubation period is 25-37 days. Hatch date range would be: 30 Jun - 12 Jul. This is right where I was originally (see below).
Even if I change my assumption for Hen 1 and Hen 2, I still end up with the same date for Hen 3.
Hen 1 - 10 eggs hatched between 10 May and 22 May. Basing this on the assumption she may not have been incubating as early as 17 Apr.
Hen 2 - 6 eggs are laid between 11 May (hen 2 occupies nest same day first clutch leaves) and 23 May. She then abandoned the nest by 4 Jun (after 12-25 days).
So, regardless of the scenario we still end up with the latest hatch date of 12 Jul. We will not be checking the box next week (other obligations), but will check on 31 Jul. Jim has been unavailable the last few weeks so we have not been able to check the box. I guess we have to wait till then to get the final answer and see if there was another scenario I just didn’t think of.
*We do this by counting the egg membranes. These look like flattened eggs. Four are visible in the photo below, more are under the chicks.
UPDATE 25 August -
We finally had a chance to check the box today.
We found - 6 bad eggs and 4 HATCHED EGGS!
I just couldn’t believe it! 45 hours and 13 days I watched that nest box and it turns out I should have waited a little longer. I MISSED IT.
At the same time I am glad 4 eggs hatched and hopefully they make it and become parents themselves.
Lesson learned - Patience, patience and even more patience than you think you have!
Estimated hatch date:
On 5 Jun there were 6 eggs. An additional 4 eggs were laid. The eggs are laid about 1 day apart. The full clutch would have been laid on or about 9 Jun. She would begin incubating approximately 3-4 days before the last egg is laid - approximately 5 Jun. Incubation period is 25-37 days. Hatch date range would be: 30 Jun - 12 Jul, the average (30 days) would be: 5 Jul
I will add further updates as additional information surfaces.
Activity Chart
This chart reflects the time of activity (either leaving or returning to the nest box) by 30 minute intervals.
Activity Chart Breakdown - Leaving the Nest Box
This chart reflects the time of leaving the nest by 30 minute intervals.
Activity Chart Breakdown - Return to the Nest Box
This chart reflects the time of returning to the nest by 30 minute intervals.
Note: The “Unknown” is the result of either - I missed the activity or the activity occurred while I was not present.
Observations -
On all but one occasion she flew in from the right. The exception was when she flew up from the canal below. This data is helpful for this particular nest box.
Special Note - On the ninth morning she called from the canal, she called for about 3-5 minutes. This is most puzzling. Who would she call to except for the chicks. I plan to research this further.
On all but one occasion she flew straight into the box. The exception was when she flew to the top of the box, looked around, then flew into the box.
She usually left the box between 5:30am and 6:00am and returned between 7:00am and 7:30am.
Although not the ducklings….picture highlights.
Below is a link to each morning:
