Marc Holtsberg (Springlakes) sent a photograph with this byline, "What kind of owl is this?" Marc has a fun sense of humor! He knows that this is not an owl but instead a Wood Duck drake.
As you see, Wood Ducks may be nesting in the Barred Owl box off of Oak Drive. Or they simply checked it out.
If a female did select the Barred Owl box for nesting, the morning after hatching (27 - 32 days incubation), the ducklings will claw-climb out of the nest and leap to the ground. The brood if there is one in there, will leap from the nest between 7 - 9 AM in the morning but may leave up until noon if predators are nearby or weather is inclement.
Other information about Wood Duck nesting from Cornell Lab:
Pair formation begins in late summer and continues in fall and winter.Male accompanies female in search of a nest but plays no role in selection. Searching happens in the early morning and male waits nearby as female explores nest site.Wood Ducks have a high degree of fidelity to their nests.Wood Duck is the only duck that will produce 2 broods a season.Removing old nesting materials from nest boxes reduces the growth of heterotrophic bacteria on eggshells. (Maintenance is important.)Hen begins incubating about 4 days before the brood is complete and spends about 12 hours a night incubating.
An interesting tidbit about the North American Wood Duck is that it is closely related to the Mandarin Duck, the only two ducks in the genus Aix. Photograph credit: eBird, copyright Dan Murphy.
Here is a pair of Wood Ducks in the neighborhood (my photograph). See the similarity?
We will clean out the boxes at the end of summer or in early fall.
Barred Owls nest in the winter months in Florida, though it is possible for a Barred Owl to surprise those Wood Ducks.
