The Wonderful World of Wood Ducks

By Kyle Wenz

For much of the wildlife Spring Valley supports, spring is a race to find suitable mates and the best nesting sites. With this increased outburst of wildlife activity, also comes an outburst of inquiries from Spring Valley patrons wondering why the wildlife acts the way they do.

Wood duck pair. (Photo credit: Gregory Lis – All About Birds)

One inquiry I received came from a young couple who were shocked to have spotted what they believed to be ducks perched high up in a tree at Spring Valley. In addition to shock, there was a bit of concern that the ducks they had seen had managed to get themselves stuck up in the tree and needed to be rescued, ala a cat stuck in a tree. I happily confirmed their suspicions, that yes, the birds they had seen were indeed ducks—wood ducks (Aix sponsa) to be exact! And that there was no need to worry, it is common to see wood ducks perched up in trees. Needless to say, I blew this couple’s minds that day, they were in complete fascination of the wood duck’s unusual behavior. 

Female wood duck. (Photo credit: Epi Shemming – All About Birds)

Male wood duck. (Photo credit: Steven Rinella – Meat Eater)

This young couple took me back to a moment in time, when I too was amazed to discover there were ducks here in northern Illinois that will perch in trees. I was a high schooler when I made this discovery. A fellow Boy Scout buddy of mine had decided to build wood duck nesting boxes that were to be mounted to trees as his Eagle Scout project. As a teenager I had heard of a species of duck called a wood duck, but I had no idea that they could require a special box to nest in and that these boxes would be positioned off the ground! I was quite intrigued by this, and a bit amazed that I managed to make it until high school before learning that there is a duck that does not nest at the ground level—and I had even considered myself an outdoorsy person.

Wood duck nesting box. (Photo credit: Ducks Unlimited Canada)

Unlike most ducks that Spring Valley supports, wood ducks are, in fact perching ducks fully equipped with strong claws that help them cling to branches and commonly nest far up in trees within cavities. Their mating courtships typically occur during fall before migrating towards warmer climates. In spring, the mated couples will migrate back to northern states and seek out a suitable nesting spot. Wood ducks will inspect old woodpecker holes, cavities within trees formed from broken branches, as well as wood duck nest boxes, just as my Boy Scout buddy built once upon a time. Wood ducks choose these nesting sites simply because they do not have the means to create their own nesting cavities—duck bills and webbed feet don’t make for the best builders. Wood ducks have been cited as low as two feet off the ground and as high as sixty feet from ground level. The male can be regularly seen perched near the nest site as a lookout while the female investigates each home before selecting the perfect nest.

Wood duck perching. (Photo credit: GK – A Naturalist’s Journal)

Wood ducks will almost always select a nesting site adjacent to water, and once the female has found the perfect nesting hole, she will create a soft bedding from down feathers plucked from her breast. She will create a soft bed for each individual egg she lays, stacking feathers and eggs in layers. Typically, female wood ducks will lay only one egg a day but will lay a total of six to sixteen eggs during a season. Nesting sites can sometimes be filled with as many as thirty eggs (even up to sixty!), due to another unique behavioral trait in wood ducks. Female wood ducks will lay eggs in multiple nests nearby with multiple females laying in each nest. This unique communal nesting behavior is called “compound nesting.” The original female nest owner will incubate all the eggs in her nest, then raise the hatchlings as her own.    

Wood duck duckling. (Photo credit: Bill Marchel – Star Tribune)

When emerging from the eggs, wood ducklings will usually hatch within a few hours of each other. Each duckling is born precocial, meaning they hatch out already covered with fuzzy down feathers, and able leave the nest to find food. Just one day post-hatching, most wood ducklings will experience “jump day”. This is when a duckling leaps from their nesting location, stubby wings spread, landing nearby their mother who is waiting for them on the ground. While each duckling is momentarily stunned, they are hardly ever injured by this daredevil-like maneuver. Once all ducklings have safely left the nest, the female will corral her young and head for the nearest watering hole and feeding area.

Wood ducks jumping. (Photo credit: Ed Erkes Nature Photography)

Make sure to visit Spring Valley this spring season to witness the wonderful world of wood ducks, as well as the vastly diverse behaviors of other migratory birds!