raingarden
Crowing
Sorry, these two camouflaged themselves into the background of the photo and I can't move the photo up to the top.
On the left is an old Rouen hen. I think she and here sister are twelve years old now. There were originally a drake and three hens. One hen disappeared and was presumed dead within the first year or so. Then, the drake disappeared and was presumed dead about five years ago. Before that, they would hatch off one or two clutches every year. None of the offspring would survive unless they were captured and penned. The mongoose, bull frogs and black crown night herons would get every one of them. Sometimes, we would catch as many ducklings as we could as soon as they came off the nest and sell them to the store in Kaneohe. I don’t think the old hens nest any more but they are active and still have quacking sessions.
About a month or so ago Orville Wright showed up. He just flew in. He was probably just passing by and heard the hens calling. At first, we would just get a glimpse of him every few days as he flew off. He could see us coming before we could see him. But slowly, Orville has becoming less flighty and stood still long enough to take the photo about three weeks ago. Then he discovered he likes eating his fill of Purina Gamebird Chow and whole red wheat. Now, Orville follows one of both hens when they walk up from their pond to my workshop every day for lunch. Sometimes he comes back later by himself for a second helping. He still freaks out if startled and will jump straight up into the air and fly away, only to show up again in an hour or so..
I call Orville “him” because I thought I saw a glitter of green in his head when the sun caught it just right. But, I don’t really know. There is not curled tail feather but he may be young. There is no mallard drake coloring but it could be immature or eclipse plumage. Time will tell.
It’s not unusual for us to see wild ducks in the local marshlands or just flying by. Most people call them Kaloa or Hawaiian Duck. Real Hawaiian Duck, Anas wyvilliana are an endangered species. Hawaii has never had much wetland habitat due to geology, and most of that wetland habitat has been destroyed. As wetlands disappeared so went the Hawaiian Duck. They have also been impacted by introduced predators like the mongoose and hybridization with feral mallards, (Anas platyrhynchos). By the early 1960’s they could find no purebred Hawaiian Duck on most islands but there is a remnant population of about 500 on Kauai. Now, there is also a propagated and introduced population in upper elevations on the Big Island and the total number is thought to be about 2000 birds.
Orville Is clearly a hybrid and intermediate in size between a genuine Hawaiian Duck and a mallard. It was probably born in the wild but there is no way to know if it is completely wild or had another human caretaker at some point. He’s the mysterious stranger but I like him a lot and hope he stays around. He may be my all-time favorite duck and certainly the first one to fly.
On the left is an old Rouen hen. I think she and here sister are twelve years old now. There were originally a drake and three hens. One hen disappeared and was presumed dead within the first year or so. Then, the drake disappeared and was presumed dead about five years ago. Before that, they would hatch off one or two clutches every year. None of the offspring would survive unless they were captured and penned. The mongoose, bull frogs and black crown night herons would get every one of them. Sometimes, we would catch as many ducklings as we could as soon as they came off the nest and sell them to the store in Kaneohe. I don’t think the old hens nest any more but they are active and still have quacking sessions.
About a month or so ago Orville Wright showed up. He just flew in. He was probably just passing by and heard the hens calling. At first, we would just get a glimpse of him every few days as he flew off. He could see us coming before we could see him. But slowly, Orville has becoming less flighty and stood still long enough to take the photo about three weeks ago. Then he discovered he likes eating his fill of Purina Gamebird Chow and whole red wheat. Now, Orville follows one of both hens when they walk up from their pond to my workshop every day for lunch. Sometimes he comes back later by himself for a second helping. He still freaks out if startled and will jump straight up into the air and fly away, only to show up again in an hour or so..
I call Orville “him” because I thought I saw a glitter of green in his head when the sun caught it just right. But, I don’t really know. There is not curled tail feather but he may be young. There is no mallard drake coloring but it could be immature or eclipse plumage. Time will tell.
It’s not unusual for us to see wild ducks in the local marshlands or just flying by. Most people call them Kaloa or Hawaiian Duck. Real Hawaiian Duck, Anas wyvilliana are an endangered species. Hawaii has never had much wetland habitat due to geology, and most of that wetland habitat has been destroyed. As wetlands disappeared so went the Hawaiian Duck. They have also been impacted by introduced predators like the mongoose and hybridization with feral mallards, (Anas platyrhynchos). By the early 1960’s they could find no purebred Hawaiian Duck on most islands but there is a remnant population of about 500 on Kauai. Now, there is also a propagated and introduced population in upper elevations on the Big Island and the total number is thought to be about 2000 birds.
Orville Is clearly a hybrid and intermediate in size between a genuine Hawaiian Duck and a mallard. It was probably born in the wild but there is no way to know if it is completely wild or had another human caretaker at some point. He’s the mysterious stranger but I like him a lot and hope he stays around. He may be my all-time favorite duck and certainly the first one to fly.
Attachments
Last edited:
