New Found Friends - Story of Lucy the Canada Goose

Spring finally arrived and both Lucy and Lucky were excited about getting back into their pond. Before the ice was even out, a pair of Mallards were staking out their claim for the pond and a special spot for nesting. It seemed to me that these two Mallards were returns from last Fall, because they didn't mind the dogs or cats and waited expectantly for their breakfast and dinner of cracked corn. It was nice to have them back and Lucy and Lucky seemed glad to have a couple of new companions.

A couple of weeks after the pond was open, we noticed some new visitors. There were four male and one female Wood Ducks. This was the first time, to our knowledge, we have had Wood Ducks in the pond. They seemed to be especially wary and nervous. Any movement from us or the dogs would send them off to other waters. They always came back, so we thought that was a good sign.

I really wanted pictures of these new visitors. I personally think that the male Wood Duck is one of the most beautiful birds in the world. I dressed in some camouflage clothing and went and sat down by the pond and waited. It worked...the male and female Wood Ducks came in and I was able to get some pictures. As a side note: the camo worked exceptionally well. I had a small bird land on my head. It would have been okay except that his feet got stuck in my hair...but I got my pictures.

Greg and I decided that we would really like to have the Wood Ducks stick around, so we built them a nesting box and put it up on a tree by the pond. The information on the internet said that they may not use it the first year that it is up, but they scout out the area and will remember good spots for next year.

I don't think they are using the nesting box, but they show up every day to enjoy the pond. I don't know if they are eating the corn, but they seem to like the area. We can only hope that we will have their ducklings in the pond later this summer.