Mother Wood Ducks

Please note:  THE PHOTO IN THIS POST IS NOT MINE.

It was taken from the Wood Duck Society page, at http://www.woodducksociety.com/qanda.htm .  Please visit that website if you would like to learn more about wood ducks.
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Wood ducks make their nests in holes in trees and in wood duck boxes built especially for them.  They like to nest near the edges of ponds.  Mother wood ducks lay about 15 eggs in one brood.  Their babies are able to swim within 24 hours of hatching.

Photo taken from the Wood Duck Society page, at http://www.woodducksociety.com/qanda.htm .

When the time is right, and after checking for nearby predators, the mother wood duck calls to her babies from the ground or the water underneath their nest.  She uses a particular call, and they leap from their nest like fuzzy little paratroopers.  Depending on the height of the nest, they may jump from 50 feet or more.  They land near their mother, and never return to the nest again.

Ducklings face many predators. Even before hatching they are subject to raccoon and snake attacks.  In the water they are gobbled up by large fish and snapping turtles.  On land, they are prey to mink, fox, and owl.  A mother wood duck keeps a weather eye out for dangers and will quickly lead the ducklings away into tall grasses to hide. Sometimes she will even feign injury to lead predators away from her young.

In 60 or 70 days, the ducklings that are left alive are able to fly.  That's not a very long time to teach these young ones all they need to know to face the world successfully.

If they survive this precarious beginning, they still face the threat of duck hunters who employ powerful tactics to call them in and woo them with promises of safety among a floating flock of decoys.  Wood ducks are one of the most popular game birds in North America.  So - yeah, a rough beginning and no easy life.  They have to be on their guard all the time.  

As I researched wood ducks, I was struck by the correlation between mother wood ducks and those of us trying to help young people grow up in this world.  While baby wood ducks can swim soon after hatching, they are still novices in the wider world and subject to many dangers of which they have no knowledge or experience.  In the same way, young people leave home at tender ages.  They are equipped with many abilities but are not always aware of potential dangers around them.  They don't yet have the experiences that we older folks have.

Like the mother wood duck, we parents, aunties and uncles, grandparents and youth leaders can call to them and invite them to follow us on safe paths.  We can raise the alarm when dangers threaten.  And we can do our best to help them sail in safe waters. 

We have a distinct advantage over our feathered friends, too.  We have a Heavenly Father who knows and loves us, and who knows the beginning from the end.  He knows the plans He has made for us.  Through prayer, and personal revelation, we can receive inspiration on how to help these young ones leave the nest and thrive.  Life will not always be easy, but when we rely on the gospel of Jesus Christ, we will have a sure foundation to lead them along. 

Wood Ducks

Someday I will get a better shot of a wood duck, but for now I'll take what I can get.

Hyperion and I were hiking in a rarely visited area of an island in the Mississippi when I photographed a passing pair of wood ducks.

They were far away and obscured by trees, but with the magic of digital zoom, we can see enough markings to know what we are looking at.

Wood ducks are beautiful little ducks, and the males are iconic for their brightly colored plumage, with green and purple on their heads and white stripes.  They have red eyes, with red and yellow on their bills.

Wood ducks have shorter wings than other ducks, which help them fly though woodlands, where they nest in tree cavities, and in wood duck boxes.  Their claws (rare in ducks) help them grip the bark where they perch.

They prefer shallow, marshy waters and ponds, where they can feed easily.  Besides aquatic food sources, they also eat acorns.

Wood ducks float higher on the water than other ducks, so that is something to remember when trying to identify them at a distance.

Something unique about wood ducks is that they are the only North American duck to have two broods per season.

Wood ducks are also called summer ducks and Carolina ducks.