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Information on the Wood Duck
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Wood Ducks
Wood Ducks prefer to live near woodland streams, river valleys, swamps, marshes, lakes, and creeks. The Wood Ducks diet consists of aquatic plants, aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, seeds, acorns, berries, and grains. Mating begins in the fall and continues throughout the winter and into the spring. The breeding season begins in April in the southern portion of the range. In northern areas, Wood Ducks arrive on the breeding ground soon after the ice thaws, usually in early May. A Wood Ducks nest is typically found 3 to 60 feet off the ground in a natural hole in the trunk or limb of a large tree and old woodpecker holes. Wood Ducks will readily and successfully use nest boxes made to their specifications. Their nests are not necessarily at the water's edge. Many Wood Ducks nest up to a half-mile away from the water: a distance still close enough that the female can lead her young to water after they leave the nest. The female will add a layer of her own grayish-white down feathers to the nest, and lay one egg each day until the clutch is complete. A complete clutch usually contains 8 to 10 semi-glossy, creamy white, or buff eggs. The female wood duck will incubate the eggs, alone for approximately 27 to 37 days. Within 26 to 36 hours after the eggs have hatched, the female will stand outside the cavity and beckon for the young. Using their sharp claws, the young climb out of the cavity to join her and follow her to water. Only the female tends the young, and after 63 to 70 days, the young are able to fly. Wood Ducks generally have one brood per season, but in the southern portion of the range, two broods in one season have been reported. Wood Ducks migrate to more southern latitudes for the winter, heading for places such as Cuba, the Bahamas, and parts of Mexico. During mild winters, some individuals remain near their breeding grounds; Wood Ducks residing in southern North America also tend to be year-round residents. Female Wood Ducks will usually return to the same breeding ground year after year.
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Learn about the wood duck.
The exquisitely colored wood duck is found in eastern North America from southern Canada to the southern coast of the United States. They are also found along parts of North America's West Coast.