Wood Duck male photo by Steve Berliner
What an incredibly beautiful bird is the Wood Duck. Many people actually consider the wood duck as being the most beautiful of all water fowl. They are about 19 – 21 inches long with an average wingspan of 29 inches. As you can see from this great photo by Steve Berliner, the adult male or drake has distinctive multi-colored iridescent plumage and red eyes.
The female, as you will see in another photo, is less colorful. She is mostly brown and has a white eye ring and a white throat. Both the male and female have crested heads. Listen to the wood duck’s call here:
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The wood duck is one of the only ducks that nests in trees. There breeding habitat is near wooded swamps, marshes, shallow lakes and ponds in eastern North America and the west coast of the U.S. and Mexico. When they are swimming wood ducks bob their heads back and forth in a jerking motion making them pretty easy to spot.
Wood Duck Pair photo by Steve Berliner
The wood duck nests in trees near water, sometimes directly over water but other times up to a mile away. After hatching, the ducklings jump down from the nest tree and make their way to the water.
The wood duck population was in serious decline at the beginning of the 20th century because of over hunting and loss of suitable nesting sites. Some changes in hunting laws and a program of nestbox construction in suitable habitat has returned the wood duck to sustainable numbers.
Wood Duck drake sitting in a tree photo by Steve Berliner
If you are a landowner or manager with property near a lake, pond or stream, you could have some of these beautiful ducks breeding on your own property. I had the opportunity to see several wood ducks up close in an oak tree next to the Sacramento River just last week while on a bird outing.
I can’t even convey to you how impressed I am with these beautiful birds. If you are interested in building a wood duck nestbox to help increase the wood duck population in your area, click on the “Build Your Own Birdhouses” link here or in the right blog column. I have also put a nestbox diagram in the resources section of the blog.
Happy Birding!
7 responses so far ↓
1 MNGarden // Feb 16, 2009 at 10:07 am
Surprised to see a pair of wood ducks in the trees behind my house this morning, I discovered your blog after searching wood ducks nest in trees. Your post was not only informative but beautiful. Thanks,
Donna
MNGardens last blog post..Plant Some Love
2 Larry // Feb 16, 2009 at 4:48 pm
@Donna thank you very much for your kind words. I’m glad you found me!
3 Ducks in Trees « Mother Nature’s Garden // Feb 17, 2009 at 8:39 am
[...] quick Google search rendered a beautiful post on Larry Jordan’s blog, The Birder’s Report, made about this time last year. As you can see, Larry has exquisite [...]
4 Brenda Kula // Feb 27, 2009 at 5:07 pm
I would so love to see one!
Brenda
Brenda Kulas last blog post..Friday Features
5 Nancy Rooker // May 18, 2009 at 4:24 am
I just spotted a female wood duck and her babies in my back yard, headed for Spout Run and/or the Potomac River. I couldn’t really count the ducklings, but I think there were three or four.
6 Marge McAvoy // Nov 1, 2009 at 3:48 am
I live in western CT, and have a very small swamp in my back yard. Wood ducks have been here for years. In the last few weeks, I have been hearing some very eerie noises in the evening, early morning, and sometimes during the night. It sounds like wood ducks, but is not the standard call. It does have that thin quality to the voice, and there seem to be many callers. Quite insistent. Once daylight really comes on strong, it stops. So, my question is – do wood ducks call to each other during the twilight and dark hours? I can’t think what else it would be.
7 Larry // Nov 2, 2009 at 6:37 am
@Marge Wood Ducks have at least 12 distinct vocalizations. You can here one of their calls here. This time of year, females use the “coquette” call, a loud penetrating call given at nocturnal roosting sites as part of the courtship. It attracts males, reinforces pair bond, and maintains contact during nest search according to Cornell Lab.
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