I put a duck box out on our lake up at our cabin in Minnesota. We have wood ducks, golden eyes, and hooded mergansers. I don’t particularly care which species uses it. Last year, we had a golden eye. Only one of her chicks survived. This year, we had hooded merganser.
Competition for boxes is intense. They are easy nesting sites compared to the way they usually do it.
I checked the box on May 23rd, and there was no action. But, there must have been on May 24th or 25th because today was Jump Day. Eggs incubate for roughly 28 days after they all are hatched. The hen will lay one a day for 8-12 days.
We did some back-of-the-envelope math and thought July 1-5 might be the time. My wife kayaked out to the box yesterday and took this quick photo to see what was happening. They hatched on July 3rd. Jump Day was going to be the next day Independence Day.
We woke up early and waited. Usually, the ducklings will jump between 7-9 am The mother hen was in and out of the box a couple of times. She flew down the lake into the bay to feed. Finally, at around 8:30, she emerged.
Here is a pro video of a hooded mergansers jump day in May. I will try to figure out how to embed our video.
Here is our unpro version, except thanks to my brother-in-law Bruce who is in fact a pro for editing.
9 chicks jumped. When we checked the box, there were a lot more eggs in it and some chicks that didn’t make it. This box became a dump box for other birds. We will have to think about setting up more boxes for next year.
Ducks are amazing because when they hatch, they are ready to go. They can eat bugs, dive a little, and swim. They look like little teeny hockey pucks sliding down the lake.
Nature is competitive. Nature is beautiful. Nature can be incredibly cruel.
Statistically, only about 40%-50% of these chicks will make it.
Last year when I was fishing I was reeling one in. An eagle took off from a white pine on the shore and took it off my lure. It couldn’t hang onto the fish, and then swam across the lake and killed a mallard duckling.
The newly minted merganser family started off across the lake. You can see it in the video.
Then, as they were making their way across the lake, an eagle attacked them. They weren’t but five minutes out of the nest. We don’t know if the eagle got one or not. It took off down the lake. The ducklings will have to learn to navigate a lot of predators. Owls, otters, mink, eagles, loons, and any other opportunistic animal.
Today, they will have to figure out how to deal with a lot of rain.
Happy Independence Day to you. Let’s hope the ducklings have a good one too.
Follow me on Twitter @pointsnfigures1 or on other social media platforms like Parler, Gab, Gettr, and Truth Social @pointsnfigures
Happy 4th, thanks for sharing. Hooded mergansers beautiful! God's creative handiwork never ceases to amaze!
Come for the insightful discussions about financial markets and the sanity restoring commentary on political hooliganism, stay for Jump Day.
Jeff, this is a lovely story and typical of your sojourns away from the sobering grind. Thank you!