Birds and Nature by Mory

 Wood Ducks are beautiful migratory birds that return to Minnesota in early spring every year to nest, and raise their  young before returning to their wintering areas in the fall.

We have a pond in our backyard that hosts a few Wood Ducks every year. Last year in 2024 the duck box successfully hosted a brood of nine ducklings. The ducklings usually hatch on the same day and the following day, when they are a day old the mother calls from beneath the box and the ducklings jump out of the nest, usually one at a time and gather by their mother who leads them to the nearby pond, or if the jump onto the water they gather around the mother. The mother Duck then leads them away as a group. The baby ducklings can walk and swim from the first day of their lives, and of course they are exceptionally cute. Here is a video of the ducklings jumping out of the nest box with the mother Duck calling them from the ground in 2024.