Wood duck

Wood ducks nest in tree hollows and nest boxes, sometimes high above the ground and some distance from water. They perch readily on branches and fly nimbly through woods.

A day after hatching, the ducklings climb to the entrance of the nest hole and jump, sometimes falling many metres to the ground unharmed, then follow their mother to water.

Wood ducks were nearly wiped out by 1900 through hunting and the loss of old swamp forests. Hunting limits and nest boxes brought them back, and they are one of the great recovery stories in North American conservation.

They eat large numbers of acorns and other tree seeds, and they depend on the old, hollow trees and beaver ponds that many other animals also need.

Nest — A tree hollow or nest box lined with down
Eggs — Usually 9 to 15; females sometimes lay in each other's nests
Incubation — About 30 days
Leaving the nest — About a day after hatching, by jumping to the ground or water
Young — Feed themselves; the mother guards them for about five to six weeks
Flight — At about eight to ten weeks
Lifespan — Usually a few years; some over fifteen

• Nest boxes mounted over or near water, with a predator guard, are used readily.
• Ducklings dropping from a box or tree to the ground is normal and part of the plan.
• Old hollow trees near water are nest sites; leaving them standing where safe helps.
• Fishing line at pond edges tangles ducks and ducklings.

• Ducklings on the ground under a tree need rescuing. They jumped from the nest, as wood duck young always do; the mother gathers them and leads them to water.
• Wood ducks are rare. They were, a century ago. They are now common across Georgia.

• Hooded merganser
• Mallard
• Black-bellied whistling-duck