If you have read my blog through the years, you may already know that we raise wood ducks. Actually, we have a wood duck house that has a Ring doorbell camera inside. In February and March of this year we watched a mother wood duck dutifully attend to a dozen eggs and successfully hatch 8 of them. We missed actually witnessing Jump Day because it was a school day. I even missed watching the little ducklings climbing out on my phone video because I was out at recess.
In the past we have had two clutches, one in March and another in May or June. But this year the duck house remained empty for weeks after the first mother left with her eight little ducklings. We waited.
Once again we have a tenant duck, but not a wood duck. It’s a Mexican squealer or black-bellied whistling duck. At first we were disappointed, but as the weeks have gone back, this weird orange-billed duck has won over our hearts. We’ve had to learn about this breed.
The first thing we noticed in the description were the not-so-favorable adjectives, words like “boisterous” and “gaudy”.
Fun Facts about Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks
- Known as tree ducks because they hang out in trees.
- “Sexual dimorphism”: both male and female look alike.
- They form lifelong pair bonds. Both male and female tend to the hatchlings.
- There are plenty of them, low-conservation concern.
Egg incubation is 25-30 days. I marked that the first night of sitting was on May 5th, so we should see hatching in the next week or so. The babies are colored like bumblebees, yellow and black feathering. Whether wood ducks or whistlers, our nest box continues to entertain us.
Reflections on the Teche 
Fascinating!
Looking forward to the next post. Hope you do not miss out on any of the events this time!
Margaret, these ducks make me smile! Every time I know someone is watching eggs, I get excited and can’t wait to see how the babies do. I love that camera and I still think about that one little duck in the last litter who had trouble figuring it out and then suddenly made the jump. Keep us posted!
The babies are colored like bumblebees! This is delightful, I think. What a marvelous mystery to watch unfold. I adore this phrase, “this weird orange-billed duck has won over our hearts” – I feel your surprise at your attachment. Fun slice! Thank you for this!
Ah, this is so sweet. I’m glad the boisterous and gaudy whistler family has captured your hearts. Enjoy! I hope you will get to witness jump day. (By the way, I loved watching your last bunch of wood ducks jump out of the box last month, especially that last one.)
Oh goodness, love the ducks. I wrote about some ducklings today too.
Yay, more ducklings and a new kind. She is pretty with her different colored brown feathers contrasting her white flowers. I hope you are able to see jump day. It was so exciting to watch those ducklings jump from so high one after the other. Its great mama can see out the window. I love your whole slice, especially this line “this weird orange-billed duck has won over our hearts.” Animals wild or domestic seem to always find a way to your heart. I’m excited for you that they’ll be hatching soon-“colored like bumble bees.” Thank you.
I love the color of the ducks. I do not get to see such beauties where I live. Thanks for sharing the new tenants.