White-tailed Eagles ~ 2011-2012 ~ Linda & Sulev

[Felis silvestris]

But ducks used to lay a lot of eggs, not 2 or 3, but 5-7 or even 9. How could she lay so many eggs within a few days and hide them all?

Seeing that this is an eagle's nest and Maisy is really disappearing in it, I guess there's enough space for the eggs and it looks like she's also brought some greenery to cover them.

[YTQ]

Is there a picture of the tree where this nest is available? I know I have seen it, but can't find it. Can anyone help?

[macdoum]

Photo here of the NEST TREE.. Its high,very high.
..from the main page..http://www.looduskalender.ee/en/node/9622
I think its Urmas up there.. .... ....

[Felis silvestris]

There was an article on the main page with a picture of the came being installed by Urmas

http://www.looduskalender.ee/en/node/9622

[YTQ]

THANK YOU! so much! I wanted to show my husband how tall that tree is, and if those little ducks actually get to jump, it's a very long way down there!

[macdoum]

This is a very good video from the BBC and it shows how well the little ducklings leap from very high and then toddle after their mom.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkBSkFyUyv0

Originally posted 27th April.

[macdoum]

I thought her name was Daisy ?
I've seen a great video online of ducklings leaving an office building and toddling after the mom ...but.. ...can I find it now ?...the answer is no.
Its in this macine... ...somewhere.!
The people from the office followed her for a good distance......until thay reached water ???

[macdoum]

I found the story (had a lil helper here..all 1m95 of him. )
Its here;

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/amazingduck.asp

...anybody got the cardboard box ?...and how will we find the NEST TREE..
That isn't how I remebered the story

[alice44]

There was another story of a bird that nested on the roof of an office building. I think they jumped on a delivery truck and then from there to the ground.

[YTQ]

OMGoodness! Those videos are incredible! Poor little ducks. I've seen them jump before, but not so high, and not onto concrete!. Our Creator made all things special.

[alice44]

Here is a bit from a USGS site on duck nesting.

Ma Mallard typically lays one egg per day until she has accumulated a full clutch. Early in the nesting season, a full clutch averages 12 eggs. Hens that lose the first nest will commonly nest a second (and even third or fourth) time later in the summer; these "renesting" hens generally lay fewer eggs, commonly 8-10. The first few eggs are laid in a shallow "scrape" in the ground. As laying progresses, Ma will add grass, twigs, and copious amounts of her own down to the nest, resulting in a well insulated and surprisingly well camouflaged nest bowl.

During the laying period, Ma visits the nest for only about one hour per day. While there she lays an egg and works on nest construction. Don't be concerned if she skips a day. She does not incubate the eggs during the laying stage. Because no embryo development has occurred, weather conditions in her absence generally have very little effect on the clutch. An exception is a hard freeze, which may kill the embryos if it occurs before the hen has insulated the nest. Once she has constructed a nest bowl, she will cover the eggs with nest material whenever she voluntarily leaves the nest. This behavior makes the nest less obvious to predators, and protects the eggs from temperature extremes.

Incubation begins after the clutch is complete, and typically lasts for about 25-29 days
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/about/faqs/bi ... t/nest.htm

I bolded the bit that says if the first nest does not succeed she will try again -- possibly several times. They appear to be well prepared for a rough times.

[alice44]

Saturday 30 April

Mrs Maisy Daisy blends into the nest very well.

[Urmas]

But this night she returned to home very late - 6:47 - long party somewhere in village... celebrating certain marriage?
http://pontu.eenet.ee/kotkas/2011-04-30 ... -06-47.jpg

[ame]

good morning!
Maisy stayed longer today: it was 9.24 when she left. maybe she was making up her later-than-usual arrival.


no-one saw her leave (exept us :peek: ), at least no-one came to the nest after she left.

[ame]

thank you Alice for looking up the mallard information!

so today was day # 4 and so i think we assume there are 4 eggs there in the bottom of the nest. she'll probably go on like this for at least a week more and then it's about May 8th. then we can expect her to begin to incubate and that'll take about 4 weeks which will be in the beginning of June.

in the P-picture where Maisy is coming home from the party she doesn't seem to have anything in her beak. i think she's using the linen that L & S brought here.

macdoum's story about the ducklings leaping from the office building was hair-raising! that was not a very high jump but landing on concrete! autsch!

from the picture of the nest tree with Urmas climbing in it i estimated that the nest is at a height of about 20 meters (give or take 2m). i think that for the ducklings this height feels about the same as 2 meters because they begin to fall with a rather constant speed after the leap like in the BBC-video which Macdoum posted. then they float down through the air and here they land on the grassy forest floor which is definately much softer than concrete.

[pumuckl]

Saturday 30 April

Mrs Maisy Daisy blends into the nest very well.

hello,
this morning I took up this video. Length 3 min

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31xhVm_ppAc

The duck has luck that the eagles from the last year did not come back, otherwise the duck that only breakfast of the eagles would have become.

[Jo UK]

pumuckl, welcome back!
Thanks for the video.

[ame]

it has become cloudy in the forest after Maisy left. now it began to sound like rain...
i hope Maisy covered the eggs well. she looked so funny there with her tail pointing straight up in the sky when she was working in hte bottom of the nest.

[Lussi05]

This poor Mallard Mum have already hatched her ducklings - in the middle of Oslo city. On friday, 29 of april the family of 12 was out looking for water and came to a fountaun. Mum and dad( I read that he was with them) was in the fountaun, but the ducklings had problems of getting in to it. People was trying to help, but it was difficult, because they scared them. The Birdguard in Oslo said that it was better to leave them alone, because they had to be together and could not be seperated,and it is very difficult to cath all together. They should be better of comming down to the sea, but it was a dangerous journey, they could be eaten by Gulls and hit by cars..The article did not say anything of how it went, but I fear it maybe was not a happy ending

[ame]

in cities these animals usually have the good will of people protecting them. this was really an early family of ducklings, about a month earlier than "normal". i hope it went ok in the end though....