Plenty of backyard visitors as the days warm up and the trees green up. This wood duck couple was literally “on the fence” about settling here. They eventually flew away to find something better suited to their accommodation needs, like a nearby lake shore.
Cool. I’ve never seen a wood duck in person!
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That’s not surprising, because it’s not a person… It’s a duck. Ha!
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I thought Wood Ducks nest above ground. On the banks of the Assiniboine River there are wood boxes attached to tree trunks 10-15 feet above ground level. Each box has a hole in one of the walls. I’m told that Wood Ducks nest in these boxes.
Perhaps that is what your proposed tenants were looking for…
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You’re absolutely right, Fraser. Nest boxes, I read, are perfect for wood ducks, whereas the nesting tunnels (the ones that look like mailboxes) are for mallards.
A few years back, a mallard hen nested in our backyard and had a 10-chick brood, which we had to guide to the nearby (not so near) pond. We looked like the pied pipers, using the crossing guard at school time, all the way to the lake. I’m not sure I’d want to try this again…
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