EC 1606 • April 2007 $1.00 Wood Duck Photo: Dave Menke, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Aix sponsa by Z. Turnbull and S. Sells

he wood duck is so beautiful that its populations have increased, and today scientifi c name, Aix sponsa, means populations are at healthy levels. T “water bird in bridal dress.” Being Wood ducks are very popular for hunt- so beautiful (and tasty!), by the 1880s, ing. In fact, there are more wood ducks the once-abundant wood duck was disap- harvested each year in the United States pearing quickly due to hunting and habitat than any other game bird except mallards. loss. But not just hunters appreciate wood In the 1910s, wildlife managers acted ducks. Bird watchers and other people quickly to help save wood ducks. Laws who spend time outdoors love their were passed to protect migratory birds, beauty. hunting was controlled, and habitat was Common predators of wood ducks are protected. Wood duck nest boxes were raccoons, gray and red foxes, great horned created in the 1930s. Slowly, wood duck owls, some snakes, and minks. In a group of 10 newly hatched wood ducks, usu- ally only one or two survive past their fi rst 2 weeks. Predation is a main cause of such low survival rates. Dump nests occur when one or more females follow another to her nest and add their own eggs to the fi rst female’s eggs. When this occurs, there may be 50 or more eggs. They usually are abandoned, leading to a decline in successful hatch- ings in the area. Dump nests are more likely to occur if there is high predation, a lack of suitable nesting sites, or if artifi - cial nesting sites are too close together.

Zach Turnbull and Sarah Sells, students in Fisher- ies and Wildlife, Oregon State University. Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Bird watchers and other people who spend time outdoors love wood ducks’ beauty. Species description

Both males and females are bright feathers to medium-size ducks. During the non- attract females, breeding season, males are grayish while females and have a white throat, dull reddish call loudly bill, and iridescent blue wings. to attract During the breeding season, nearly males. every feather on a male wood duck Fol- is radiant. His head is mostly green, lowing but also contains red, white, yellow, courtship, wood ducks begin breed- and black. His bill is red, white, and ing between February and April, black. His chest is bright brown and depending on how far north they splotched with white markings, and live. Males mate with only one his sides are a coppery gold color. female during the breeding season. His back and parts of his wings range Wood ducks often return year after from black to iridescent purple-blue. year to the same nesting site if the Female wood ducks are much last brood was successful. less colorful than males. Their heads Females lay 10 to 15 creamy have a purple-bronze sheen over white, 2-inch-long eggs in a nest gray, a dark bill, and a white throat cavity. After incubating for approxi- and chin. Their bodies are olive-gray mately 30 days, the young hatch. on top with a gray-brown, tan- The mother cares for the ducklings streaked breast, a white belly, brown on her own. When she calls them sides, and a tail that is dark on top out of the nest, they jump toward the and white underneath. Look for a opening of the nest with their sharp teardrop-shape white area around the claws. Once they reach the open- female’s eyes. ing, they fl utter to the ground. The Vocalizations, or calls, of the mother leads them to water, where wood duck are unique. Males whistle they stay with her for about 8 to in a series of up and down notes 10 weeks until they are able to fl y. while swimming. When females are Wood ducks are omnivores, which alarmed, they make a shrill squeak- means they eat plants and animals. ing sound that sounds They eat fruits, seeds, tubers, leaves, like a very loud and needles from trees and plants. “whooeek.” They also eat spiders, ants, beetles, Wood ducks fl ies, bony fi shes, and many kinds of use courtship insects, but gradually switch to eat- displays to fi nd ing mostly plants as they get older. mates. Males display their

2 Where they live and why Wood ducks are found throughout much of the United States and parts of Canada and Mexico. Most wood ducks breed in the northern parts of their range and winter in Mexico, but many live year- round along the west coast from Washing- ton to California, in the southern U.S., or Photo: Pat Welch in Cuba. They are not found in some areas Wood ducks live in a variety of habitats of the Southwest and Midwest. associated with water. Wood ducks live in a variety of habitats associated with water. They are found in and farm ponds. They nest in cavities wooded areas along lakes, rivers, creeks, (holes) in trees, and they need large trees and wetlands. They also use beaver ponds or nest boxes within a half mile of water.

Creating habitat Creating a large pond Fill the box with about 3 inches of saw or restoring wetlands is chips. Install a predator guard to keep out the best thing you can hungry animals. do to create wood duck Place boxes within 30 to 150 feet of a habitat. See Create a shoreline away from roads or large obsta- Garden Pond for Wild- cles since ducklings must move to the life, listed under “Learn More!” Many water after hatching. Place boxes on metal state and federal agencies can assist you poles 8 to 30 feet above ground. If placed with wetland restoration. over water, boxes should be at least 4 feet Leave older trees and snags (standing above the highest water mark. dead trees) to provide nesting sites for Do not place boxes closer than 600 feet wood ducks. Hardwoods such as oak, apart and hide them from one another. ash, and sycamores are great because they Monitor boxes to make sure exotic spe- grow near water and provide many cavi- cies have not moved in. Replace the nest- ties. You might plant these trees to pro- ing material each year before wood ducks vide food and eventual nesting sites. arrive to breed. You also can provide artifi cial nest You also can attract wood ducks by boxes for wood ducks. They are simple planting things they like to eat such as to make and sometimes are available at seed-producing trees (oak, maple, and little or no cost from local wildlife agen- hickory). Plant or preserve species such as cies. Naturally fi nished boxes of rough- grapes, water lily, pondweed, duckweed, cut lumber are best. The young ducklings button brush, and wild rice. Do not use have sharp claws for climbing out of the pesticides and be careful not to attract nest box, but you should use a chisel to wildlife to areas where there are a lot of roughen the surface for them to grip. pets. 3 Fun facts

Wood ducks have some of the largest eyes of any duck. Ducklings can jump from nests as high as 290 feet without injury. The wood ducks’ shrill sound gave rise to the nickname “squeaker.”

Photo: Dave Menke, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wood ducks are one of the only Wood ducks have some of the largest eyes of any duck. ducks in North America that com- monly perch in trees.

Learn more! Atlas of Oregon Wildlife: Distribution, Illinois Natural Resources Information Habitat and Natural History. B. Csuti Network. http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/ et al. 1997. Oregon State University pub/ifwis/birds/wood-duck.html Press, Corvallis, OR. National Geographic Field Guide to the The Birders Handbook. P.R. Ehrlich et Birds of North America, 3rd edition. al. 1988. Simon & Schuster, Inc., New M.B. Dickinson (editor). 1999. York, NY. Waters, R. http://www.pfmt.org/wildlife/ Cornell University. http://www.birds. somethings/wood_duck.htm and http:// cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/ www.pfmt.org/wildlife/somethings/ BirdGuide/Wood_Duck.html appendix1.htm Create a Garden Pond for Wildlife. United States Geologic Service. http:// S. Lamb and N. Allen. 2002. EC 1548. www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/1999/ Oregon State University. woodduck/ University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. http://animaldiversity.ummz. umich.edu/site/accounts/information/ Aix_sponsa.html

Oregon Additional wildlife publications in 4-H Wildlife this series are available on the OSU Stewards Extension Service website at http://extension.oregonstate.edu © 2007 Oregon State University. (choose “Publications and Multimedia”). Wood duck track illustrations are used courtesy of Kim Cabrera.

This publication was produced and distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914. Extension work is a cooperative program of Oregon State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Oregon counties. Oregon State University Extension Service offers educational programs, activities, and materials without discrimination based on age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran’s status. Oregon State Univer- sity Extension Service is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Published April 2007.