A favorite time of year in June is to witness hens leading ducklings paddling around the lake. Tonight, a Mallard and brood come ashore to forage ripe, American Elm seeds from the sandy beach. These tan seeds, toasted by sunshine, are only a seasonal delicacy to feast on. Once they’re consumed, they’ll subsist on aquatic plants and insects. Observing their fixations reminded me of my own childhood appetites and the first taste of strawberries from the garden. That experience of sweetness was a joy that won’t be unseated, always be savored. If these ducklings will ever have cravings for tree seeds, I wouldn’t be surprised.
Near dusk Painted Turtles rise from the lake, cross the sand, and crawl over land. Their mission? To dig a nest and lay a clutch of eggs. The nests might be dug near beds of reeds where the earth is especially soft or further afield to graveled paths and roadsides. Females use their claws and strong hind legs to excavate a hole that is several inches deep.
Too often, it seems, the shallow turtle nests are unearthed and destroyed by predators as soon as they’re complete. With misgivings about the decline in habitats and their numbers, I find a gleaming trail of broken shells and dried crumbs of golden yolk. In the summer heat, the emptied casings appear mostly as white balloons that deflated or burst; the fragments and beads are so plentiful as to string a mourning necklace.
On a good day at the lake, I’ll count 50-100 turtles and there are likely more unseen. My hope is that many of their nest sites will be secure. In August, I’ll be on watch for the hatchlings as they claw free from underground, crawl over land to the lake, and swim. One day these precocial creatures may unknowingly encounter their parents and share a basking log.
In contrast to the Painted Turtles who cease parenting once their clutches are safe within the earth, the Wood Duck hen heading to the Southern lakeshore is closely followed by 15 Woodies! It’s the largest brood of the spring so far.
Are they all hers or has she adopted some of them? Maybe or maybe not!
A research study observed Woodies are cooperative nesters meaning some hens lay their eggs in multiple nest boxes and consequently another hen accepts and incubates them. For a species that was nearly extinct by the early 20th century, one could infer this extraordinary behavior was an evolutionary practice to beat the odds.
The day after the hatch, the ducklings with undeveloped wings hear their mother call and jump from the nest and follow her to the water. To take such a leap—especially from the edge of a tree cavity high above with no sight of the ground—is an astonishing way to begin living.
© 2023 Melissa Kalinowski. All rights reserved.