Wood duck

I figured I'd just post a picture I recently took of a wood duck. They are pretty common in Ohio. They live here year round. I love the slide whistle call they make.

When in mate seeking season, the males are incredibly beautiful. They almost make me wish I were a lady wood duck. They pair up in Janurary and have two broods. I read that they nest high up, sometimes almost 300 feet. The mother flies down and then calls to the babies to all jump down!

This is consistent with what I've observed of their parenting style. The wood duck females are "slacker moms" the way I imagine I would be. They pretty much go about their business, with the ducklings hopefully keeping up. They don't really interfere or try to scare away threats until it's really necessary. I've seen teeny tiny wood duck babies puttering around completely alone while the mother casually watches from afar. The babies probably learn to be confident at a pretty early age. I also don't see male wood ducks with babies

This is in great contrast to the Canadian Geese. Anyone who's been near them know they are the prototypical nervous parent. Get anywhere near even adolescent offspring and they start bobbing their heads and then hissing. And they do bite!*

Wood Ducks live all over the United States, so go find a park with some water and see them! Beautiful and fun birds.

*Canadian geese also do communal parenting involving the father as well as the mother. Any time you see a female sitting on eggs, you will see a male watching out nearby. Once the babies are born several couples will get together and watch all the babies of different ages, sometimes adopting if something happens to the parents. My mother once saw a couple with 13 babies, of three different ages!
(Did I mention I am a birder?)