Any ideas on what kind of duck??

[CampYJewel]

My parents have a duck that laid about 15 eggs in the chimney or our sauna!!!!  We have been trying to figure out what kind of duck would lay eggs is such a bad spot.  The chimney is about 5' tall, she laid her eggs at the bottom, right were they is a clean out door.  But the clean out door is actually 5' up, the total chimney is at least 10' tall. 

When you go close to it you can hear her flapping her wings to get out of the chimney then she flies down the drive way towards the small crick about 1/4 mile from the house.

She looks gray (maybe from the soot of the chimney) with a lighter red head.  Also on her wings it looks like they are white in the middle of them, on the top side.  I know its not much to go on, but she is soo fast coming out its hard to get a good look at her.  The eggs seam to be white, but they are also pretty sooty!!!!   

Any thoughts???

[HD]

Are you sure it's a duck?

The reason I ask is cause we had an apilliated (sp) woodpecker put a nest in our chimney once.
And they got a read head, and about the size of a duck.

[CampYJewel]

I would say I am 99.9% positive its a duck,  she quacks.  And I would say the head is more brown/red I guess then real red!!  You know God made the girls ducks more blaa for some reason

[Woody]

Jewel give this site a shot and see if you recognize it. 

www.enature.com

[CampYJewel]

I think I found it!!!!!  Thanks for the website Jeff.  I did not find it there but it lead me to another website (which I have listed below)  and this is what I found.  Great website!!!

Thanks!!  Jewel

The Common Merganser usually nests in tree cavities, either those made by large woodpeckers or from where a limb broke off. It will also use a nest box. Infrequently a Common Merganser might make its nest in a rock crevice, a hole in the ground, a hollow log, in an old building, or in a chimney.

Female Description
Head rusty brown with short, ragged crest. Chin white. Breast, back, wings, and tail slaty gray. Belly and flanks white. Bill scarlet-orange. White patch in wing visible in flight

Nesting Facts
Clutch Size
6–17 eggs
Egg Description
Creamy white

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Merganser/lifehistory

[Fawkinnae]

Nice detective work! I was thinking it might be a merganser but did not properly follow up on my research. And I had no idea they laid so many eggs (no wonder there are so many raccoons and skunks).

[kenhuntin]

It sure sounds like a meganser to me. The little babies are faster running on the water than a 5 horse motor. I don't know how well they climb chimneys though but I guess pretty well. Birds do weird things sometimes. Last year a momma blue bird was trying to put a nest in the exhaust of our pettibone. She kept flying in with nest material and when someone fired it up it would all blow out and even when it moved around she kept it up. I put a wire cage around the exhaust opening and she gave up.

[Auggie]

I have a neighbor that had a hen woodduck nest in his garage chimney 3 consecutive years.