Wood Duck

Description:

Wood ducks are fairly small ducks with the female being mostly brown with a distinctive white eye ring. Males--shown in photo--are arguably the most handsome of the North American waterfowl. He has a reddish brown breast, green head with white throat, neck and chinstrap markings. The crest is green and outlined in white, eyes are brilliant red, and bill reddish tipped with black. Sides are burnished bronze, wings dark. Both males and females have a crest although it typically lays down the neck.

Habitat:

Wetlands and wooded floodplains. Wood ducks have strong, sharp claws and they often land in trees. Nest sites are in tree cavities and specially designed nest boxes.

Notes:

These small ducks are fast fliers. When they come in for a landing it looks like they'll never slow enough to land, especially when they are zig-zagging at high speed through the trees. I never get tired of watching these birds. At one time, they were extremely rare as overharvesting and loss of mature nesting trees trimmed their numbers. Fortunately, they are becoming much more common, mostly due to the installation of large nesting boxes in suitable habitat. They often nest quite high in trees. The young must leap from the nest to the ground, sometimes as much as 70 or 80 feet. They then follow the hen to a nearby pond, wetland, or lake where they feed on insect and plant life.