Musical nest boxes

After the mallards had abandoned their nest, having had all the eggs predated, I tidied up the box and forgot about it for a few days. When I went to check it and add some more straw, in case the mallards decided to start nesting again, a tufted duck shot out of it as I lifted the lid.  I'm not sure which of us was more taken aback!  Inside were three eggs so the female tufty must have occupied the box the moment it was abandoned by the mallards.  She had been hanging around both nest boxes for a long time and had already laid three eggs in this box several weeks before but had been 'kicked out' by the mallard.

Three 'tufty' eggs

The tufted duck has really had to defend her nest, however.  Every day the mallard pair attempt to re-occupy the box and the tufted duck has to fight her corner.  She hardly ever leaves the nest which means that the mallards aren't able to sneak back in during her absence. The image below shows the female mallard attempting to take back her old nest.

 The mallard refuses to give up her nest box

 Female tufted duck finds her nest occupied

On one occasion, during a brief absence from the nest, the tufted duck was unable to re-enter her nest box  because the mallard had reclaimed it.  The tufty squatted outside the entrance to the box looking miserable for a while and then swam off and 'sulked' with her partner on our 'chill out' plank.

The 'tufty' pair retire to the plank

Drake is driven from nest box by female 'tufty'

I don't think the mallards are really ready to start nesting again. Although they regularly try to reclaim their old nest they don't hang around for long.  The female tufted duck was able to return to her nest after a while and, later in the day, drove away the mallard drake when he was unwise enough to put his head inside the nest box!

 Female mallard refuses to abandon 'her' nest

Every day the mallards persist in checking out their old nest. They hang around for a while but are gradually getting used to the idea that the female tufted duck has no intention of relinquishing her new home.  She is extremely feisty in the defence of her eggs!

 Female 'tufty' takes a break for a snack

Male 'tufty' preparing to dive for wheat

Yesterday I saw the tufted duck behaving in a distressed manner and noticed that she had an egg in her beak and was carrying it away from the nest box.  She appeared to be eating the contents of the egg. While she was off her nest I checked inside and saw yolk covering the bottom of the box. 

When the tufted duck returned to her nest she spent over an hour clearing up the mess, moving straw around, carrying soggy straw away from the box and eating as much of the spilled yolk as possible. I had added some fresh straw while she was absent and she gradually used this to replace the mucky straw that she had thrown out.

Later that day I saw a crow about to raid the box so I guess that the crow must have broken one of the eggs as it tried to steal it.