This morning we watched ten baby ducks jump out of the duck box. When I got up before sunrise I noticed the mama duck was out of her box and quacking repeatedly while looking up at the hole. I knew something was up so we were ready and waiting. Not long after, we started hearing a chorus of faint chirps coming from within the box. And then:
Since we were ready we were able to film the big reveal. Caroline flexed her Kitten School skills and edited the video for all to see (above). We wanted to be quiet and hidden to not scare the ducks so we watched from the screen porch — that’s why there’s an annoying screen grid through most of this. But that doesn’t dampen the cuteness in the least.
Awesome — way to go — providing much needed habit for these beauties. It’s awesome that you saw them pop out! That’s a rare in-person sight — usually just the stuff of trail cam videos. We have installed 5 boxes on our lake and one on another lake. We’ve had several clutches per year! This year, with the water level so low, we had two tragic racoon burglaries. We had to move the boxes out into deeper water and enhance our predator guards.
Yes! We had a duck box already there when we moved in but it never had any takers. After a couple years of wondering why, we finally inspected it and realized the bottom was rotted out so no self-respecting duck would use it. So this year we got it replaced and immediately had this duck couple moving in. And, now that they’re gone, we’ve got a second couple visiting it every morning. We expect a repeat of the above video in a month or so.
It’s been so much fun that we’re going to install at least one more box for next spring.