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Yesterday we awoke to a nice surprise … the usually skittish and shy nature of the wood duck took an unusual turn when we found that 5 chicks had taken up temporary residence in the pool and were happily swimming around. As described in another of our blog posts the baby wood ducks are precocial and had probably hatched within the past 24 to 48 hours. They are now safely … at least to the extent that we can control … relocated to the beautiful koi pond at this New Hope bed and breakfast inn. There is no sign of the mother.

Sadly, very few wood duck chicks live to see adulthood … they are the targets of multiple predators including the blue heron, snapping turtles, racoons and more. To counter this natural predation the wood duck lays large numbers of eggs. We are hopeful that at least some of them will live to spread the news about the beauty of the pond and forest at this gem of a Bucks County lodging … and return year after year to add more family members.

We never thought we would get attached … after all they’re only chickens! We were wrong! And this spring we decided to add a few to the flock … but really because we were curious about the outcome of a cross between our very large rooster … of uncertain pedigree … and our Rhode Island red girls. Well, we have our preliminary answer as three of the eggs that hatched resulted in black chicks. Not at all what we would have expected. If any of you reading this are chicken “experts” then do please take a guess at the breed of our rooster!

The gourmet  breakfasts at our New Hope Bed and Breakfast are not yet legendary … although in our biased opinion they certainly have the credentials … not least due to the great tasting free-range, organic eggs. These chicks hatched just days ago should add to our supply in about 21 weeks! Come and try some … and relax at one of the best bed and breakfast inns in Bucks County !

The sound of the American bullfrog in mating season is an impressive and penetrating sound … I guess the lady frogs are impressed but for the casual listener it adds a whole new dimension … we were fortunate to capture the action on camera  on May 29th at 845pm … hearing is believing ! Keep those speakers turned up … oh … and he leaves right after the performance … no guesses as to where he’s headed. This IS New Hope after all …

One of the most beautiful North American birds is the male wood duck. And at this time of the year the secretive and less colorful females are quietly sitting on their eggs hidden from view in tree hollows close to water … or here at the Inn in a specially constructed wood duck nest box. One of the remarkable sights of nature is to see the wood duck flying at full speed, only to suddenly brake and seamlessly dive into the small hole in the nest box. No perch and no headaches! Just yesterday we were fortunate to capture this event on a small video recorder … take a look but don’t blink!

Another unusual thing about wood ducks is the way they enter the world. Unlike most chicks that are helpless at the time of hatching, wood duck chicks are precocial … meaning that they are born in an advanced stage of maturity and “ready to go”. In fact, within hours of hatching and encouraged by the calls of the mother, wood duck chicks climb up and launch themselves into space in an amazing leap of faith … sometimes from as high as 30 or 40 feet above the ground!  The whole event is over within minutes. The Inn at Bowman’s Hill, New Hope bed and breakfast inn has several wood duck nesting boxes and each year we hope to witness the “wood duck chick launching” … it seems we may have a greater chance of winning the lottery!