The Wood Duck saga is heating up. I think I've already told Tweeters that
last summer we had two pair of Wood Ducks here on Long Lake (just east of
Lacey) but saw no evidence of ducklings. So this year I made a beautiful,
standard box for them, and we got it up on a tree at the edge of the water
just as one pair returned at the end of March. We were delighted when
they found the box and sat on top of it for a while, and eventually the
female went inside. We've observed her going into the box several times
since then, but she doesn't seem to stay there. According to the books
(Johnsgard, Waterfowl of North America) Wood Ducks arrive on their
breeding grounds in pairs around the time we observed and find a
satisfactory cavity; then the female lays one egg a day up to an average
clutch of 13-15 eggs and starts to incubate them when they are all laid.
Incubation takes 28-30 days. But our birds don't seem to be on this
schedule, and the pair often stands in the tree above the box or sometimes
investigates the box as if they aren't using it. They also come up on the
porch regularly to gorge themselves at our feeder, the male acting like a
good guardsman while the female feeds.

The new complication is that more ducks are showing up. Another male
appeared a few days ago, followed by another female. Then yesterday
morning we found at least six males and three females, chasing around
very actively, sitting in the tree, on the lake, or near the house in
various combinations. What I take to be the original pair seems to spend
most of its time sitting in the tree above the house, but other males
sometimes join them. Johnsgard says the ducks aren't particularly
territorial, but the males do keep other males away from their mates. I
can't tell whether only the original female is interested in the box.
Skutch (Helpers at Birds' Nests) does say that sometimes two females will
share a nest site and both will incubate. Johnsgard also mentions that
female Wood Ducks sometimes use dump nests that average about 28 eggs
each, presumably from more than one female. I sure hope our little box
doesn't wind up being nothing but a dump site.

I don't know why we suddenly have so many Wood Ducks here, although Lois
says that if you set a good table, guests will come; I know that the
feeder is serving more than the original pair. I couldn't help but
wonder if last year's birds might have raised some young where we didn't
see them and if these are last year's birds returning to the lake. The
scene has the appearance of a family group involved in some kind of
communal mating/nesting situation, but I don't find any record of such a
mating system in Wood Ducks (Brown, Helping and Communal Breeding in
Birds).

We certainly enjoy having these beautiful birds around, but I'm not
convinced that even one pair is breeding normally. If anyone has more
information about Wood Ducks and ideas about what's going on, I'd like to
hear about it.

Burt Guttman guttmanb at elwha.evergreen.edu
The Evergreen State College Voice: 360-866-6000, x. 6755
Olympia, WA 98505 FAX: 360-866-6794

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