Is it too late to hope that a wood duck may still choose to use one of the boxes I put up this year? or have they all settled down and laid eggs by now? I would think in Texas you would be way ahead of us up here in MI
CC- I can only speculate, but I think the nesting season for wood ducks in Iowa is about the same as Michigan. "House hunting" begins at ice off through the end of April. From mid to late April, hens will lay about one egg per day till a clutch of 8-12 eggs is laid. She will then begin incubating them from late April/early May for ~ 30 days (till they hatch). IF she is interrupted in this usual cycle, she will try again. This actually happened with one of my boxes. I checked it from my john boat in late June (no egg fragments, no membranes, no nest activity) showing an unused house. But I had a late hatch on the pond later that summer, with hatchlings seen in August. When I check that box again this winter, it had egg shells and membrane halves! So a hen tried over and had a later (successful) hatch. So you still may have some tenants. Also, she only leaves for an hour every morning, and again every evening, when she starts to incubate her eggs. So the house will seem void of activity otherwise. Watch for the drake 'hanging out' on the water near the box in the morning and evening. The pair goes to breakfast and supper together.
"Politics": derived from 'poly' meaning many, and 'tics' meaning 'blood sucking parasites'.
