Wood Duck

Aix sponsa

The Wood Duck is one of the most recognizable and striking birds in the United States. To many, they are a good sign of fall and winter. During breeding, the markings of the male wood duck include red eyes and a red bill with a yellow patch at the base. The top of the bird’s head and crest are a metallic purplish-green. The sides of the face are black, and a white stripe runs along the neck. A small white stripe also extends up each cheek. The chest and the rump are dark red, and the sides are a drab yellow with black and white stripes at the edges. The wood duck’s belly is white, its tail and back are black, and its wings are black and blue. They use the colorful markings to attract females during the breeding season, which runs from autumn until the early summer. In the late summer, they grow gray feathers with blue markings on the wings and white markings on the face and neck. You can still recognize the bird as a wood duck by its red eyes and bill.

Female wood ducks have grayish-brown bodies. The back is dark

gray to brown and the sides are a lighter shade. The most noticeable characteristics of the females are found on the head. The head is gray with a white ring around each eye. The head also has a crest of feathers at the back and white feathers on the throat and chin.

While these ducks can be found across much of the country year-round, those that breed in the north (generally along the US/Canada Border) will move toward warmer areas with open water for the winter. Here in Ridgefield, we see some of those migrating groups, but we are perfectly positioned to host many species, including the Wood Duck, as a year-round resident, known to nest on the Refuge.

Wood Ducks thrive in bottomland forests, swamps, freshwater marshes, and beaver ponds. They are also common along streams of all sizes, from creeks to rivers, and the sheer extent of these make them an important habitat. Wood Ducks seem to fare best when open water alternates with 50–75% vegetative cover that the ducks can hide and forage in. Wood Ducks eat seeds, fruits, insects, and other arthropods. When aquatic foods are unavailable they may take to dry land to eat acorns and other nuts from forests and grain from fields. Diet studies indicate a lot of variability, but plant materials make up 80% or more of what the species eats. Like any water bird, if you see them in a park please do not feed them bread – bread fills them up but has no nutritional value for them. Please do not feed the wildlife on the Refuge.

When a breeding pair starts looking for a nest, they search for a good cavity that can have an opening anywhere from 4 inches across to a couple feet across. These dabbling ducks are known for their courting males who swim before a female with wings and tail elevated, sometimes tilting the head backward for a few seconds. Males may also perform ritualized drinking, preening, and shaking movements. They’re also known for their egg-dumping, or “intraspecific brood parasitism” which is common in Wood Ducks—females visit other Wood Duck cavities, lay eggs in them, and leave them to be raised by the other female.

Did You Know? The Wood Duck nests in trees near water, sometimes directly over water, but other times over a mile away. After hatching, the ducklings jump down from the nest tree and make their way to water. The mother calls them to her, but does not help them in any way. The ducklings may jump from heights of over 50 feet without injury.

-Samantha Zeiner, Friends Administrative Coordinator