Ducks and Ducklings

 We have had 3 duck families showing up below our house, including April's.  

These videos look better if you click the full screen option.

I've captured this Common Merganser and her 15 ducklings on trail cameras numerous times.

You can hear this Belted Kingfisher who is perched on top of my trail camera and then dives into the river for a fish.

This lone Hooded Merganser shows up often. Here she shows off her underwater swimming skills looking for fish, crustaceans, and insect larvae.

The Common Merganser, again, with her ducklings.

April and her 5 ducklings.  The 6th one perished somewhere.

The 3rd duck family, not shown, is a Mallard with 3 ducklings.

Gail's Birthday!

This is Gail's birthday month, and that means dinners out and day trips.

 We had ordered a new car for Gail, and fittingly, it came in right before her birthday.  She has named it "Sparkle Motion".  That's James, who was so nice and professional for a car dealer, that I didn't even feel like bargaining with him. 

I set up the old Williams family tent by the river as a birthday surprise.  We spent the night with Daisy, lulled by the sound of the river.

Cummins Creek Gwynn Creek Loop

 I am way behind on posting as it has been very busy here with yard work and SWIFTY nest box monitoring.  I'll start with a pleasant hike we did at the end of May.

Camassia quamash

You know Daisy is happy when she flips around on her back in the grass.

Getting near the high point of this 8 mile hike and close to our lunch spot.

Lupine

Iris tenax (Toughleaf Iris)

One of our favorite trees.  We call this Douglas Fir "Big Momma".

Can't get enough of these two!

Mother's Day Surprise

 On Mother's Day, May 14, April's eggs hatched in the morning.  Knowing that they would leave the nest within 24 hours, Gail and I were glued to the TV monitor.  When they settled in for the night under mom, we knew tomorrow would be the big day.

April leaving her nest box on the 14th to go fishing.

The morning of the 15th, and April is on the ground outside the box calling to her ducklings.  They're very excited and starting to climb out of the box. They all climbed up and out in a period of about one minute.

April is between the duck box and the river, calling to her brood.  Her call was a soft, low, croaking sound. Near the end of the video, you can see the last little duckling free falling from the duck box into the grass. This is best seen by clicking to full screen.

Since we were in the house watching the TV monitor, and there was no good place to view the fledging without the risk of disrupting this critical moment, we thought we might never see them again.  We were very lucky, though, to look down on the river from the road, about 15 minutes after fledging, and see them through all the trees and vegetation and get a telephoto picture.  They had swum about 50 yards up river and through some light rapids. 

It could be that April was the same Hooded Merganser that nested in our box last year.  Maybe we'll see her again next spring.

We were amazed how clean her nest was after about 6 weeks of habitation.  She ate the egg shells, there was no poop, and no smell.  On the left, you can see the grooves I cut into the inside of the box front to serve as a ladder for the ducklings to climb up.

We are in awe of the whole process, and learned a lot first hand.  We are very happy that all the ducks successfully fledged and are together with mom.  Although they can do short dives and find their own food, the mother will stay with them for about the next 90 days.

Trail Cam Photos and "April" Update

 "April" Update 

April 10

We thought April was setting on her eggs, beginning the incubation process, but now we are not sure.  After sitting on her eggs most of yesterday, she covered her eggs completely, and left the box at 3:20 P.M. She has not yet returned, as of 1:00 P.M. today.  This is a more complicated process than I thought.            

Trail Cam Videos

Not sure, but my guesses in order are:  mink, weasel, otter.

   

Canada goose out for a stroll

Holy Merganser!

 Yesterday evening, Gail and I were sitting by the window, watching the river, when she said it might be a good idea to look at our duck box camera TV.  I replied that I had been checking it every day, and nothing was going on. We looked anyway, and wow, there was a Hooded Merganser tending at least 3 eggs.  I had looked several hours earlier and didn't see any.  What was happening?

April 6

After watching her for over an hour, she carefully started covering up her eggs with pine shavings and left the box. It was nearly dark, and after checking for another 2 hours, she didn't return.  I realized then that this probably means she is still laying eggs, but not incubating them yet.  It was as if she was tucking them in for the night, and then leaving the box to roost or hunker down somewhere else. Last year we named our Hooded Merganser that nested successfully in our duck box "April".  Since they often return to the same nest the following year, this could be April.  The eggs will all hatch within a few hours of each other, and then within 24 hours, April will call from outside the nest box, and the ducklings will climb up and out of the box, one by one.  They will be feathered in down, able to swim, and can catch food.  Hopefully, this year will have a happy ending for the nest.

The camera system is a little funky.  It is a cheap analog camera inside the ceiling of the duck box.  A cable runs from the box next to the river, up a steep bank, to the house where it is connected to an old TV with RCA inputs.  In the video, you can hear rain drops landing on the sheet metal of the predator guard. 

Sunday Update

April returned to her nest yesterday evening and has been sitting on her eggs since.  April 8 marks the first day of incubation.  Incubation can last 26 to 41 days. I could see at least 4 eggs at one time, but there could be more that I can't see, as normal clutch size is 5-13 eggs.  The night camera image is clearer than the daytime image because it works using infrared light.  These videos are night videos.

April 9

This is April's nest box along the river below our house.

Nest Box Surge and More!

It has been a busy few weeks for SWIFTY, as we had several big projects to complete before nesting activity takes place later this month.  

We installed 7 Tree Swallow nest boxes on property that is being rehabilitated by the Midcoast Watershed Council.  This location is on North Beaver Creek.

On the same property is a small lake where we installed one of the 5 duck boxes I constructed.

Looking back across the lake you can dee the duck box in the center of the picture.

From left to right are Jim, Carrie from Midcoast Watershed Council, and Marty.

On the same day, we drove over to another Midcoast Watershed property at South Beaver Creek and installed another Wood Duck nest box.  Notice the big herd of elk in the background.

We also installed 6 Tree Swallow nest boxes on this property.

Marty and I installed a 3rd Wood Duck nest box the next day at Beaver Creek State Natural Area.  I nearly got swallowed up by the mud!  

You can see the box at center-left.

SWIFTY members also installed many other swallow boxes at South Beach State Park, Siletz Natural Area, Hatfield Marine Center, The City of Waldport, and other locations.  

This morning, SWIFTY installed these nifty Purple Martin nest boxes that Wally made.  The location is on Yaquina Bay in Newport at the Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Center.  A few days ago, a group of 5 orcas swam by here and up the river, supposedly looking for seal pups.

Wally used a unique design pioneered by a group up in Washington.  Those birds on top are decoys. Marty worked with the Hatfield staff to erect the post, which can be swiveled down for box cleaning and removal.  

Last week, Gail and I had a relaxing day driving up the coast.  We had a wonderful lunch at a Thai restaurant in Depoe Bay.  After lunch, we walked a trail along a stream leading from a nearby park.

Depoe Bay is labeled "The World's Smallest Harbor", and was made famous in the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

We continued north past Lincoln City to an open house at Sitka Art and Ecology Center.  Here, I'm adding my contribution to an interactive traveling art exhibit on how water is important to the participants.  The artist in residence, on the chair, is from the Boston area.
 

Sarah Has A Visitor

On March 27, my sister Sarah, who lives in Anchorage, sent me these pictures of this moose who was chomping on her shrubs.  Sarah nonchalantly sipped her morning coffee, and spoke soothingly to her visitor through her open backdoor.  She figured it was a bull moose due to the 2 scars on his head where he had recently shed his antlers.

Great shots, Sarah!  You are the "Moose Whisperer"!