By Bruce Urben, President
This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s February, 2021 Volunteer Newsletter edition.
Wood ducks are Wisconsin’s most beautiful waterfowl species. The drake is decorated with green, blue, red, purple, white and orange hues. It is hard to believe that wood ducks were almost extinct during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Habitat, hunting and minimal nesting sites were thought to be factors in their decline. Biologists helped us understand wood duck ecology and also helped us understand and assist them in providing artificial nesting devices. Wood ducks are “cavity” nesters, preferring to nest in tree cavities left by tree disease, rot, squirrels, etc. Increased mature tree harvest and tree diseases have reduced these natural nesting areas, but success has been shown in providing artificial nest boxes for these waterfowl.
Wisconsin Waterfowl Association has a supply of wood duck nesting boxes available for sale. Please contact us at wwainfo@centurytel.net to obtain the boxes you need for nesting projects on your property.
Wood duck pair on one of WWA’s Adopted Wildlife Areas. Photo by Mike Alaimo
Wood duck boxes need to be installed prior to the spring wood duck migration (March-April here in Wisconsin) when mating occurs. Wood ducks begin forming pairs at their wintering grounds in January. Wood ducks are like most duck species, they do not mate with the same mate for life. Wood duck hens generally do, however, return to their initial nesting area where they were hatched year after year.
Wood duck breeding habitat is wooded swamps, shallow lakes, marshes or ponds and creeks. Female wood ducks will lay 10-13 white-tan eggs that she will incubate for 28-30 days. The female will lay about one egg per day and cover each egg with wood chips and breast down. She is only in the box at this time to lay her egg and then return to open water with her mate. Once her clutch is laid, she will begin “full time” incubation, leaving the nest only several times a day in the morning and afternoon for up to 30 minutes. At this time her mate has moved to another secluded location to begin his molting process.
One way to gauge the timeline to hatch once you see a full clutch of eggs (10-13) is to begin to count forward on the calendar about 28 days. Take care to only open the nest box when the hen has left to observe and count the egg clutch so as to not cause her to abandon the nest. Hatch success is based on a number of factors including predation of the eggs, infertile eggs, death of the hen, etc.
Studies show that chick survival to flight is between 30-40% in nesting boxes.
A “used” wood duck box at Paradise Valley AWA
What can you do to help nesting wood ducks? First, be sure nesting boxes are placed in prime wetland nesting areas. Utilize a well designed and constructed box and use a predator guard on the mounting post to deter predators like snakes, raccoons, mink, etc.. Be sure your boxes are cleaned each year prior to nesting (February-March in Wisconsin is a good time for cleaning). Remove all of the old nesting material, mouse nests, bird nests and other foreign objects and replace with fresh, clean wood chips. Cedar chips are a preferred nesting material.
If you are persistent, you should see nesting in a new wood duck box if properly placed and maintained within one to two years. And… the hen or one of her offspring will usually return each spring.
There is no better feeling than to be able to see the chick jump from a wood duck box you installed and maintained. One great wonder of nature!
Here are some interesting facts about wood ducks:
- The wood duck is also known as the Carolina duck.
- Wood ducks have sharp claws on their webbed feet for perching in trees.
- Female wood ducks will often lay their eggs in another wood duck’s nest leaving offspring to be raised by another.
- Male wood ducks will court females by swimming before them with their wings and tail elevated.
- Wood ducks can fly at speeds up to 30 miles per hour and have a wing span of 26-30 inches.
- Wood ducks live an average of four years in the wild.
Check out this video I took a few years ago of a wood duck “jump day”: