Hi all,
Each spring, we have Hooded Mergansers visiting our smallish pond (~150' by
50'), feeding on the newts and tadpoles. We usually see a pair for a month or
so, then the female only for a while longer. About 40 yards from the pond,
over our driveway, is an owl/wood duck sized nest box which has only hosted
squirrels in the 4-5 years it's been there. This morning, however, we
discovered that the female Hooded Merganser is nesting in there!! She's been
feeding on the pond and flying off in that direction for a few weeks, but today
was the first day I was able to catch her entering the box! Very exciting!
I know the chicks will drop down from the box when they fledge, and it
seems an awfully long way, with a hard landing at the bottom, and it also seems
pretty far from the pond but I hope they make it!
Laura
Laura Stenzler
Lab Manager
Evolutionary Biology Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Rd.
Ithaca, New York 14850
Office: (607) 254 2141
Lab: (607) 254 2142
Fax: (607) 254 2486
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
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