Operating a nest box camera requires a good deal of planning, preparation, tinkering, building, waiting, video editing, and then........ in a moment it is over. The birds are gone and the nest box is silent once again. Birds spend only brief periods of their lives confined to a nest box, be it as an egg or a hatchling, but these are crucial and fascinating moments of their lives.
Here on Hogsback Acre, we were fortunate to have not one, but two successful wood duck nests this spring. Between the two nests there were a total of 26 ducklings (17 south box and 9 in the north box) that successfully fledged. For some added excitement, the hen in the north nest box disappeared shortly before the eggs hatched. As a result, the ducklings jumped from the nest on their own and attempted to find a route across the railroad to Sycamore Creek. Amazingly, we were able to find and capture all 9 ducklings and deliver them to a licensed waterfowl rehabilitation who has since safely released them.
In addition to the woodies we had one black capped chickadee nest and are currently expecting a nest of house wrens to fledge any day now. Below are videos documenting the last moments of each of the nests.
South Box Wood Ducks: Seventeen Ducklings Left the Nest on June 1st
North Box Wood Ducks: Nine Ducklings Left the Nest on June 8th
Black-Capped Chickadees: Five Nestlings Left the Nest on May 25th
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