Sunday, April 11, 2004

Full house of Easter eggs I finally got around to checking out my wood duck nest box yesterday afternoon. A couple fluffs of down on the moss at the edge of the pond suggested there had been some activity, so I hoisted the ladder and clambered up for a look-see. When I unscrewed the top and peered inside, I couldn't believe what I saw. There were 23 eggs in the box, along with a little bit of fresh down. Of course, I don't keep accurate records of my box activity, so I couldn't recall if I ever checked it at the end of last season. I think maybe I didn't, so I don't know if these were old eggs or new ones! The down was fluffy and thus, new, but the eggs? One was discolored and a lot lighter than the others, so I took it out. A couple were stuck in the cedar shavings but came loose when I tugged at them. I left 22 eggs in the box, screwed the top back on and climbed down. Later, I called Rick Stel, a biologist I figured I could bother on Saturday night. He thought it was too early to have that many eggs in the box and guessed they were all from last year. I decided to watch it for two more days, then count the eggs again. If there are no more, I'll clean it out. If there are a few more, I'll have to make a judgement call. Maybe I can candle the eggs to see if they are viable. Rick thought that might work. If they are from last year, that means several hens likely used the box as a dump nest and none ever tried to hatch them. If they are from this year, I have no clue what's going on, as I have seen only one wood duck pair, and that was on April 5. If they are a mix of old and new eggs, will this year's hen manage to incubate her clutch among the old eggs from last year? Anyone else have any ideas? Later... 9:13:32 PM    comment []