Type and press “enter” to search
Aix sponsa
©Marc Sison
With their vibrant and intricate plumage, Wood Ducks are perhaps the most recognizable cavity nesting waterfowl in North America.
Habitat
Look for Wood Ducks in swamps, marshes, beaver ponds, and along creeks and rivers bordered with leafy trees. In summer, migrants will head to British Columbia and from Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia. Winter takes them to northern Mexico and many parts of the United States, where they join year-round
residents that don’t migrate.
Food
Wood Ducks eat seeds, fruits, insects, and other arthropods, like spiders, centipedes, and shrimps, but plants make up the bulk of their diets.
Behaviour
Pairs will form in January. On their breeding grounds they look for a nesting cavity that could be a natural crack in a tree, an old woodpecker hole, or a large nest box. It could be from 0.6 to 18 m (2 to 60 ft) above the ground. While they do like sites at or near the water, nests can be up to 1.6 km (1 mi) away. Anywhere from 6 to 16 eggs are laid. In some cases, a female will lay her eggs in the nest of another, leaving her to raise all the young. After hatching, the young leave the nest by jumping down to the ground. They tip their rumps up to feed just below the surface, sometimes diving. They are strong, fast fliers.
Conservation
Wood Ducks faced serious declines in the late 1800s and early 1900s from over hunting. Since then, they have made a dramatic comeback. They are a species of low conservation concern today, but habitat loss remains a constant threat as the large, often dead, trees they rely on for nesting can be in short supply.
