See all posts in the Birds of Carver County series

The wood duck (Aix sponsa) arrives back in Carver County as the ponds and streams thaw out—usually toward the third or fourth week of March. It is common to see them already paired up and ready to find a nesting spot so they can have two broods during the year. 

With trees just starting to grow buds, the presence of wood ducks is noticeable as the pair fly between trees looking for an opening that is just right. Their webbed feet are equipped with strong claws to allow them to grip bark and move among the branches.  The male will stand by as the female performs the selection of the nest site during early spring mornings.

This gives us more time to look at this attractive couple. The male gets the most immediate attention due to his bright colors standing out against the gray tree limbs.  His head is bright green, lined with white marks, a bright red eye ring, a yellow-red bill with a black tip, black and white cheeks and a crest that is mostly held flat against its neck. Chestnut marks on the face are complemented by the same color on its neck.  White spots begin on its chest then transition to a pale belly. Tan feathers mark its waterline and white striping lead up to a multi-colored back, tail and wings.  

The female wood duck’s appearance gains from intricate feather shading, a white belly, bright blue marks on her wings and a distinctive white eye-ring with a flowing tear-drop shape. A “wee-e-e-e-k, wee-e-e-e-k” whistle by the hen is the most commonly heard wood duck sound.

The couple will search through woods for a nest hole made by a broken off limb or a woodpecker, or they will move into a nest box put in place by humans. Ideally, the box will be isolated in a swampy or slow-moving stream or away from water and 12 to 15 feet up with a clear area below it to serve as a bouncy-pad for the nestlings to land on when their time to explore has arrived.  

The female incubates her eggs for about 30 days. Typically there are 10 to 15 eggs, but sometimes two females will use the same location and 20 or more eggs will crowd the space. The nestling stage lasts about 60 days. Adult wood ducks are smaller than mallards, and are about 18 inches long with a 30 inch wingspan.  

Juvenile birds will initially be colored like females so they can blend into the water’s edge and shadows. After the nesting season is finished, male wood ducks molt many of their colorful feathers.

Wood ducks rely on a full menu of options for food. They will eat insects, vegetation, seeds, acorns, berries and snails. There will usually be vegetation on the edges of their patch of water, along with fallen branches or trees that provide protective cover.  

Although they aren’t overly shy, if you approach too closely as they are tucked into their safe place, you may get surprised as they explode vertically into flight and the pair will be quickly gone from view. By the end of October, most have moved to ice-free locations.

In the early 1900’s, hunting, wetland drainage and deforestation brought the wood duck population to near-extinction. A hunting ban in Canada and the United States was enacted from 1918 to 1941. Subsequent bag limits and habitat protection have resulted in successfully increasing and stabilizing the wood duck numbers.

Wood ducks are examples of the benefits of conservation education of the public and of wildlife and habitat managers. They also highlight the beauty and adaptability of a species common throughout Minnesota and Carver County.

REFERENCES:

• Minnesota Nature Notes, Jim Gilbert
• The Sibley Guide to Birds, David Allen Sibley
• Reader’s Digest Book of North American Birds
• Birds of Minnesota, Robert B. Janssen
• Breeding Birds of Minnesota, Pfannmuller, Niemi and Green
• The Audubon Society’s Encyclopedia of North American Birds, John K. Terres
• Online: Birds of the World, Cornell Lab of Ornithology This links to map showing the Wood Duck presence and migratory movement across North America.
• Online:  Wood Duck Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Online: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources