Jump Day

Welcome to the World

At our lake in Minnesota, I installed two duck boxes. Ducks need safe nesting sites from predators, and duck boxes are perfect. They sit in the water, and predators can’t get them.

We installed a Green Feathers solar-powered camera in one of them. We saw the competition for the box, and a hooded merganser won. She laid eggs, and we watched her sit on them. Today, the chicks jumped.

Chicks hatch one day. The next day they jump. Hopefully, they can avoid predation, learn how to fly, and we will see them next year. Two years ago, when they jumped, an eagle flew in and grabbed one. Sometimes a big fish or an otter will take one. Of course, if they get too close to the shore, a mink or some weasel creature will eat them.

I have seen what it looks like when they jump out of the box into the lake. But this is what it looks like inside the box. Chaotic.

The mother checks the scene for predators. She jumps out. Then, she calls for them. The chicks are imprinted upon her and figure out how to get out of the box.

Here is the video. We counted seven chicks.

Here is the last one.

The circle of life continues.