Wood Duck Hen
In 2007 I built a Barn Owl house, installed a motion detector infrared surveillance camera inside the box, which is viewed and operated from my computer, and waited for a breeding pair of Barn Owls to move in. To my complete surprise, a Wood Duck Hen appeared on April 30th 2007, laid 8 eggs, which proved infertile, and on July 28th abandoned the nest and did not return.
On March 25th 2008, she returned, fluffed around for 30 minutes and left...
April 2nd '08..In this video you can hear her second egg drop at 16:35:13...Watch closely to see the egg appear........................
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E-Mails of 2007:
June3rd 07
Hi Dean:
I am a birder & a
research associate w/ the S. B. Museum of Natural History.
Your nesting record of a Wood Duck is very rare. In fact, it might be
the first actual nest that anyone has ever monitored or been able to see in
Santa Barbara County. Congratulations!
Would you mind furnishing me w/ your address, or at least a description
of where the nest box is located? That way you and your Wood Duck can go
down in history, since we do keep records of unusual occurrences like this.
Thank you very much.
I am enjoying the video on your web site. Well done!
Sincerely,
Joan Lentz
Another mail on 6-11-07
Dear Melinda,
Yes, wood ducks are rare here. The male is gorgeous. Go get "Lives of North American Birds" by Kenn Kaufman, page 80-81. They do nest up high. Wood ducks are nothing like the ubiquitous mallards. You must be living in a rural area. Do you have water close by?
We live in Costa Mesa near the Newport Back Bay where we see many water birds. We have only seen Wood Ducks in a private pond near the Back Bay.
Will tune in to Dean's Web site.
Peggy