The ducklings have hatched in mid June, which is late in the year. We hope they become large and strong enough to join the migration in October.
This mother Wood Duck has but one duckling. We don't know if this is all she hatched, so late in the season, or if the others have not survived. Wood Ducks nest in cavities high up in trees and close to the water. They do not feed the hatchlings in the nest. Instead, the newly hatched ducklings, with the encouragement of their mother, jump from the tree, sometimes falling as far as fifty feet to the ground. They are so light that this doesn't seem to hurt them. They then follow their mother to the nearest water where they remain until they are bigger.
These are three sibling juvenile Wood Ducks that hatched earlier in the spring. They are probably part of the hatch of seven, which we showed in June and July. They are very nearly full sized by now. These three appear to be males. Notice the light vertical mark on each of their cheeks. This will turn into a bright, white stripe, part of the male's colorful markings.
Close-up shots of two of these male duckling shows the white stripe and the beginning of color on their wings.
A juvenile female Wood Duck is beginning to develop the typical "spectacles" around her eyes and color in her wings.