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March 21, 1985 - The Colorful Wood DuckMarch 21, 1985 The Suffolk Times Page 17 The Colorful Wood Duck By PAUL STOUTENBURGH It does my heart good to see how many people are interested in the world around them. Wherever I go, someone is bound to relate an event -- whether it be a new arrival at their feeder or something more spectacular like some wood ducks in their pond. The reason I am so glad to hear of these events is that more and more people are becom- ing aware of nature, and it is showing up in the changing attitude of our area. People want to protect and keep it natural more and more. Some people are actually utilizing marshlands and wetlands as the focal point for their new homes while others are leaving the woods natural around their homes with only traces of lawn. A "young man" recently called to tell me about wood ducks coming to his pond along with the mallards and black ducks each day. This is the time of year we find them in our woody ponds; they are looking for nesting sites in the trees. Years ago these wet spots would have been filled in and a high- maintenance lawn would have replaced them. It is good to see the change in attitudes tak- ing place. The wood duck is one of a group of local ducks that nest in trees. Most ducks nest on the ground, but the wood duck, the hooded merganser, the bufi'le- head and the golden -eye nest in hollow cavities. Here on Long Island, the wood duck and the hooded merganser are not seen very often, but the golden -eye and the buffle -head are quite common in our bays and creeks. It is hard to think of ducks nesting in trees, particularly when some of the sites are 40 to 50 feet up. For years it was thought that the mother carried the young out of the nest in her bill, but Focus on Nature now we know better. The young are born with extra -sharp claws that enable them to climb up the inside of the nest- ing cavity. Believe it or not, they tumble out into their new world. Evidently, their soft resilient bodies can take the fall, for eyewitnesses say they merely bounce on the ground and scurry off to hide. Kortright's classic book, "The Duck, Geese and Swans of North America," tells of a family of ducks dropping 20 feet onto a concrete pavement and bouncing with apparently no problem. He also states that if a six - foot -tall man did the same thing, proportionately he would fall 500 feet. No thank you. I'll leave it to the ducks. Wood Duck Boxes In some localities wood boxes with a four -inch opening are put up to encour- age wood ducks to nest. For those who have a wooded area with water nearby this might be a good idea to entice this most beautiful of all ducks to nest. But there is one thing you must remember: Raccoons and grey squirrels will be competing for these choice sites; these boxes must be designed to discourage these marauding rascals. Of all our local ducks, the male wood duck is, without doubt, the most bril- liantly colored, and during this courtship time they are in their prime. Each move they make changes the light reflection from their iridescent greens, and reds. COLLISION REPAIR Out of the 20 shops between Greenport and Riverhead, only 2 have the proper equipment to measure and only 4 have the proper equipment to straighten. We have both... with capabilities to measure a car to the nearest millimeter! When you take your car to a body shop for col- lision repair (unibody work), ask the owner to show you his equipment. If he can't, you're in the wrong shop. tarlite AxutO BOdy,,INC. MAIN ROAD, MATTITUCK 298.5933 Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh WOOD DUCK - -Of all our local ducks, none can surpass the splendor of this colorful one. Nest- ing in tree cavities or man -made boxes, the baby ducklings literally fall to the ground from heights of 40 feet or more with apparently little or no harm. The female is a much more drab bird. We usually think of a female being given these duller colors to make her less conspicuous on the nest, but re- member -- the wood duck incubates in the cavity of a tree and does not require camouflage at this stage. I guess where the camouflage comes in is when she is tending her clutch among the reeds. Here the duller brown colors hide her well from the ever - present predators seeking a meal. Another tree nester is the bufile- head, which right now is showing off in our creeks and bays. This handsome lit- tle black and white duck spends its win- ters in our area feeding on small crusta- ceans, fish, seaweeds, etc. It nests in northwest Canada and often chooses sites 40 feet or more in height. Another bird that follows the pattern of tree nesting is our golden -eye, found in the open Peconic Bay areas and to the east. It, too, is black and white and gaudy in its markings, and is quite com- mon. To the gunners, this bird is known as the "whistler" because of the whistl- ing sounds it makes when flying. This is a duck of the cold and blustery bays of winter. As a youngster I can re- member seeing the classic plate in "Birds of America" by Louis Agassie Fuertes, which shows the male in all his splendor standing with his mate on an ice floe in a wintry bay. Barrow's Golden -Eye Rare Actually, the golden -eye has a close relative in the Barrow's golden -eye, which is much rarer. I have seen one only in my lifetime. This bird differs only in the cheek patch, which is a thick white crescent between the eye and the bill. Our American golden -eye has a white circular pattern in the same loca- tion and is much more common. The last of our local ducks is another one rarely seen because, like the wood duck, it frequents freshwater areas. This is the small- hooded merganser. It is black and white with a crest that can be raised to make it a handsome troubadour. There's no better time to see these birds in action -- if you can find them -- than during the mating time. Like the other ducks, they will point their bills straight out in front, raise their heads up, and bring them way back over to reach their tails in display. This is the time when all ducks select their mates, and once this is done they stay together on their trip to their northern nesting grounds. All these ducks are handsome fellows to be sure. Get to know them and soon you, too, will be fascinated by the tree nesters who visit our area during the winter.