E.G. Kingsford (1917) was camping near a wood duck tree nest in Michigan and wrote, “…one morning before sunrise she flew by from the tree to the river with a little duck in her beak… ...

Back then most wood duck boxes were set in trees, and Duckman's washer was an especially valuable aid in achieving that chore. What's unique about the washer is that it has a keyhole-shaped center ...

Unlike some water birds, such as herons, that build stick nests in trees, wood ducks use cavities. Since they aren't equipped to excavate their own holes, they use preexisting openings.

Last winter, Mass Wildlife put out a request for wood duck nest boxes. Following the appeal, Boy Scouts, sportsmen, school groups, lumber companies, and other conservationists generously answered the ...

Duck bills are not made for excavating cavities in trees, so the female wood duck must find a ready-made nest site. That can be an old pileated woodpecker nest, or an otherwise naturally occurring ...

“Nesting season typically starts in late January or early February,” says Frank. “Once the mother lays her eggs, it takes about 28 days for them to hatch.

Significantly, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 prohibited the hunting of wood ducks nationwide. In the 1930s, artificial nest boxes proved to be a boost to the species' recovery.

Nest boxes played a key role in the relatively rapid recovery of wood ducks following implementation of hunting regulations. The rocket-shaped structures mounted on poles or trees are common ...

Wood ducks nest seasonally in forested areas across North America from coast to coast in southern Canada and the northern tier of states. From southern British Columbia, a narrow strip of breeding ...

About 24 hours after hatching, all the wood duck ducklings will jump out of the nest to join their mother. Questions about this spectacle and other reader birding questions answered.

The wood duck is one of seven species of North American ducks that regularly nest in natural cavities. The others are the hooded and common mergansers, common and Barrow’s goldeneyes, bufflehead ...