On a spring morning I was looking for wildflowers in the Big Woods – in a large hemlock stand that hadn’t been logged for at least 100 years. There were a lot of round-lobed hepaticas, but it was a cool morning and few of the flowers were open. Thousands of trout-lily leaves blanketed the ground, but buds were extremely scarce.
However, you never know what you may find.
Suddenly I was startled by a duck flushing from the base of a large hemlock less than 50 feet away. My first thought was that it was a female wood duck, but as it flew to the nearby stream I realized that it was a female mallard.
There at the base of the hemlock was her nest, containing over a dozen eggs. On this cool morning I didn’t want to keep her off the eggs for long, so, after snapping a couple of photos, it was time to move on.
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The mallard had chosen a strange place to nest, far from the type of wetland where her species usually nests. And when the eggs hatch, what about the ducklings – where will they find the insects they usually eat, where will they hide from predators in these open woods? The stream's a typical mountain stream, no emergent vegetation or log jams – no place to hide there.
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I walked on, still searching for blooms. After not finding many flowers in bloom I turned around and crossed a small drainage to return whence I had come. The hemlock where the nest was located was quite distinctive –
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When
it came into view about 250 feet away, the camera’s telephoto lens
revealed that the female mallard had returned and was on the nest
incubating her eggs –
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Leaving her to her duties I went on searching for flowers.
You just never know what you may see in forest or field.
Silly Mallard mom, what a very exposed site to nest in.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting thing to find. I presume you'll report on the nesting success.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteYes, there is usually always something to see in the forest. I hope the Mallard and her babies will be happy and successful. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great weekend.
Your adventures in the woods are always fun to read.
ReplyDeleteHow amazing to find a duck's nest in the forest. Well....I never! That is really something and there are so many eggs too! Probably a sighting of a lifetime!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if she has done that before or is a first time mother? Will you go back to check?
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who asked, I haven't been back to where I found the duck and her nest. By now all trace of the nest and the hatched eggs would be gone. As soon as ducklings hatch they leave the location of the nest, normally the female leads them to a wetland where they can find food and cover. The egg shells would have been consumed by mice, chipmunks, squirrels and other birds since they all need calcium which is in short supply in that area of acidic soils.
ReplyDelete