Oh I just adore Wood Ducks!

I love the Wood Ducks too. According to my Florida bird book, they are residents here and interact with a number of migratory northern wood ducks during the fall and winter. Their nests can be 50 feet off the ground and the female lays up to 20 eggs, one a day until the clutch is complete and then incubates them for 30 days. Within a day after hatching, mama leaves the nest cavity and calls to the babies .... who fall to the ground (unhurt!) and follow mama to the nearest pond or river. Isn't nature amazing!

Umm...so I guess now wouldn't be a great time to tell you about the Wood Duck we have stuffed and mounted on the wall? I think it's the only one Dad ever shot. It's a male. It's mounted so it's in flight. Good looking bird. And don't worry folks, Dad doesn't duck hunt anymore. Says it feels too much like work and the hunting is always best when the weather is bad. I think he got too old for it.

The Catbirds were calling and singing all the time I was out in the garden this afternoon.

Are Catbirds the same as Mockingbirds, Rita! I love hearing the Mockingbirds sing.

No, they are different birds but have many similarities. We have both here but the Catbirds nest in my yard while the Mockingbirds nest in my neighbors yard. Of course they fly back and forth and all around.

Catbirds really like shrubbery.

for the info Rita! I dearly love hearing Mockingbirds sing.

Melanie, Apparently the Wood Duck was once on the verge of extinction due to over hunting but stricter rules were put into effect so they've made a comeback!

@quietyard Linda, The Northern Mockingbird, Gray Catbird and Brown Thrasher are in the same family; all about the same size and shape but different markings:

Northern Mockingbird .......................... Gray Catbird ........................................... Brown Thrasher

I know Dad never saw very many Wood Ducks and of course there are lots of restrictions and limits on what you can hunt and fish in Florida. Dad is very strict about the rules; I remember asking him once to "stretch" a Spanish Mackerel and he said no and threw it back. I can see why someone would want a Wood Duck to mount; they're a very attractive bird. The Hooded Merganzer has always been my favorite, though. I've tried eating duck and it's nasty. Dad always said he never found a recipe he really liked. Neither did I! I like my meat tame.

LOL, I've never tasted duck but I know a lot of folks love it ... I'll stick to beef and chicken.

From my backyard this evening.

Mourning Dove ..................................................................................................... Grackle


Brown Thrasher ...................................... Snowy Egret


Female Red-bellied Woodpecker

Okay, Dad confessed to Mom that he did not actually shoot the Wood Duck. She was asking him where he got it just wanting to know a general location. And he said he and my brother were driving back from duck hunting and he saw the Wood Duck laying on the side of the road. He turned around, picked it up, and saw that it was dead. He assumes it was hit by a car but said it was in good condition. Anyhow, he had to "claim" it and reported they got it at Cockroach Bay since that was close by and where they usually hunted.

Dad also used to participate in this program they had where hunters would send in a feather of each duck they got and mail it off so they could be studied. I guess it helped them estimate populations, where they ducks were and when they were there. It was before DNA testing was a thing but maybe they extracted other scientific stuff from them. I always thought that was kind of neat.

plantladylin said:Melanie, Apparently the Wood Duck was once on the verge of extinction due to over hunting but stricter rules were put into effect so they've made a comeback!

@quietyard Linda, The Northern Mockingbird, Gray Catbird and Brown Thrasher are in the same family; all about the same size and shape but different markings:

Northern Mockingbird .......................... Gray Catbird ........................................... Brown Thrasher

Lin for the photographs, that is very helpful. I am familiar with the Thrashers and Mockingbirds but had only heard about Catbirds.

You are very welcome. We have Mockingbirds and Brown Thrashers here year round but only see the Catbird during the winter months and I love when I get to see them! I enjoy listening to their calls too, one which does indeed sound like a cat. They visit the feeders in my yard every winter and at our old house, my backyard neighbor had lots of Loquat trees all along the property line and the Catbirds loved those little plums. They eat dried fruit that I mix in with birdseed in the feeders and they love suet too. These (not so great) pictures are from 2011; one shows a Catbird eating Loquat's from the neighbors tree and the other it's grabbing a piece of Mango from a feeder:

plantladylin said:LOL, I've never tasted duck but I know a lot of folks love it ... I'll stick to beef and chicken. :)

Duck tastes really good.

Newyorkrita said:

Duck tastes really good.

Lin for the additional pictures and information. I enjoyed that.

Well, I guess I've never had duck cooked well. As a Floridian, I prefer seafood. Especially shrimp scampi!

Lin, stop saying you have bad photos because you're making the rest of us feel bad. Even your bad photos are awesome.

Oh, Mom and I signed up for the Birding 101 class at the Brooker Creek Environmental Center on May 31. I go hiking a lot in Brooker Creek Headwaters Preserve which is in my county, but the Environmental Center is across the county line. It's a big preserve. Mom and I have been there before for classes. I tagged a Monarch there once! It's an hour and a half class so hopefully I'll learn something new. They also do bird hikes, but I don't know if I could keep up with other people so I haven't signed up for one of those. I'm kind of a free-range Melanie, anyway.

Lin, your photos are great!!

I just snapped this picture an hour or so ago. Hummingbirds are tough to photograph. The feeder is next to the window and these guys were watching me from the tree. I feel pretty lucky to have gotten this one though! We're still in transition from WI to NY (we're not settled yet, staying with inlaws) so I am just enjoying their birds for now.