I think many people are surprised to see how much hunters (especially duck hunters) care about the species they are hunting and will go through great measures to preserve wildlife for the next generation. Happy hunting and or birding!
This video seems like it could use a reminder that the legislation protecting game species and the wild places that support them comes from the hunting community, as does the funding that supports its enforcement and conservation measures in general. If not for our hunting tradition, we would have lost these and many other treasures long ago.
I was an avid duck hunter in MD I now live in an area where there isn't much duck hunting but I always buy my state & Federal duck stamp hunters do more than nonhunters to support wildlife
Nothing like hearing the whistling wings and skies full of the squealing of woodies in their predawn flight. Blessed to live in Arkansas, I have spent many mornings standing in flooded timber watching natures magnificent woodduck show.
I’ve been lucky to have wood ducks nest on my property for the last two years using a nest box located on a creek bank. Watching the young leave the nest on “jump day” is an amazing thing to witness and I was able to get some video of it. This past spring, at least two females laid eggs in the shared nest box. A pair of hooded mergansers also spent time investigating the nest box. It’s a very popular spot!
Thank you once again, Lesley. I'm a natural resources consultant and have often and greatly enjoyed seeing wood ducks during my fieldwork. Such a beautiful bird! I admire your dedication and excellence in this production for a bird species you've yet to have seen in person. Please keep up the good work. Much appreciated!
I absolutely LOVE wood ducks! I was doing product review photos and video, and had to put the decoys on the pond for final photos. I was pleasantly surprised to have real live wood ducks arrive and join the lifeless decoys. Do you have any explanation as to why they seem not to be able to determine that decoys are not live ducks? This left me with questions but was a pleasant bonus for the decoy company. Side-note, I'm not a hunter, the decoys are used to draw them in for photography and video :) Thank you and Happy Holidays!
Hmm that's interesting. I'm not sure about why they are unable to determine that decoys are not live ducks. Something for me to look up and read about though. Thanks for mentioning it and thanks for the nice comment. So glad that you enjoyed this video. Have a great day
One fact I’ve found interesting is the relationship of wood ducks to beavers. Beaver ponds are prime real estate for wood ducks. Beaver population declines due to trapping in the 1800’s were a significant factor in wood duck population declines. As beaver trapping waned and reintroductions occurred in the mid 1900’s, beaver populations rebounded, as did wood duck populations. Great video Leslie. Thanks for your work!
Yes they're saying beavers are the answer to our climate change problems! What a great movie "Grey Owl", with Pierce Bronson was and a true story at that! Canada once had 11 species of beavers, now only 1! When my mother-in-law passed away I couldn't give her beaver coat away!!
That makes really good sense. There is also a sort of symbiotic relationship that I have observed when beavers are feeding. I saw this a number of times in a nearby beaver pond (Ottawa area in Canada) - beavers were feeding on the tubers from water lilies, and there would be wood ducks very close by. I think they were waiting for bits of the tubers to break off. Sometimes I've seen wood ducks with large (by their standards) pieces in their beaks, looking a bit like a pale yellow peanut. I am not even sure how they manage to eat those but they seem to like them! I even saw a female come so close to a beaver as it was busy digging out a tuber that she got hit by the beaver's tail! It didn't deter her though. She stuck right by the beaver until it surfaced with the tuber.
Very adapted to survival, females do the raising of young, and I have seen males defend or distract potential threats to female and young, with his flashy colors distractive and beautiful. Ducklings are very social, females secretively sneak away, ducklings trying to follow. Very social in fall, females may bond with other duck families, yet I have not witnessed that behavior. Mountain quail, wild turkeys, and other game birds do come together after young are hatched to assert more eyes and peers to look out for predators of more vulnerable young. As hatchlings grow quickly this communal raising of young does, often, seem to be effective. They are unique Tree lovers, cavities fit their needs like you suggested by fairly permanent water source. Socially behaviors point to the male dazzling her, but distractive as young or female are threatened. Such lovely ducks, probably does make a fine mount for Taxidermists, and may have led to being a popular Trophy, and their diets make them sound, well quite edible. Saw ducklings and Mom as a young person they taught me well by just observing one of my personal favorites, boy those ducklings are cute! Pictures were stu
Beavers are key to some habitats. But the dust bowl had a huge impact on ALL duck populations and was probably a bigger variable in duck declines at the time.
Many years ago I had Wood Ducks in a cavity in a tree in my yard in north central IN. Haven’t seen one since, but it’s something you don’t forget. Great video.
My 4th grade class project (1973) was building wood duck boxes and putting them up out in swamps in west Michigan. From how often I see duck boxes, both functional and falling apart, it seems like a popular thing to do yet.
I'm fortunate to have wood ducks around my property, I see them in the Spring and early Summer. Three years ago I had 2 mating pairs out back and counted 20 little ones swimming around the stream that goes through my back yard. They are very skittish and can't get anywhere near them. It's definitely a head-turner to see a duck perched in a tree. Great job once again Lesley, thank you.
I looked up wood duck nests on RU-vid after this video and was in for a real treat! Those lil ducklings are adorable and watching them leap 30-50 ft out of trees is absolutely amazing!!
Hi, Lesley. The Wood Duck is one of my favorite birds. Their hatching and nesting exit is spectacular. This video was excellent. Thank you Bob Carlyle! Thanks for sharing! Stay healthy!
Woods Ducks were always my favorite duck. I finally got to see them live when I bought a house on a creek in southern New Jersey. I've since moved to Central New Jersey and was pleasantly surprised to see them on the Delaware & Raritan Canal too! 🦆😄
Really informative video, Lesley. We're lucky here in the Ottawa area as we get a good number of them migrating through and many stay and nest and raise ducklings. Most are gone south now with a few late stragglers still hanging around. One thing I miss is their distinct sound that they make - likely won't hear it again until next Spring. Thanks for sharing and here's hoping you get to see one in your area next Spring! Happy birding. :)
Thank you for another great video! Like you, I’ve never seen one, so it was delightful to see your photos &learn about the beautiful wood duck. May they thrive indefinitely!
Wood Ducks are year-round residents in most parts of my state. I love seeing them at the local park where they seem to favor a beaver pond. I always thought ducks were categorized as either dabblers or divers. This is the first I've learned of perching ducks. Thanks for the informative video 🙂
Used to have a Wood Duck nest box on our pond. the tree it was mounted on died, and we had a flood that pretty much destroyed the pond... eutrification and such When we can afford it, we'll get the pond dredged and rebuilt, and put up a Wood Duck box again. They're wonderful and pretty birds.
Wood Ducks are quite common here in Michigan. They are in the lakes and ponds not far from where I live. The nesting boxes are often found near lakes and have helped to increase their numbers.
Long ago when I was a child I saw some of these ducks in a park not far from my home in Northern Germany. There were a lot of "exotic" birds. Now I know more about these ducks. Thank you.
Leslie, waterfowl are so fascinating. Please continue more videos on them! Canada geese, pintail, snow geese, teal, wigeon etc! They are all so incredible and interesting! Thanks for making these!
On the rate occasion that I see a wood duck in my area, southwestern New York, I have always been amazed by the drake's plumage. It looks like an artist painted it on! 🦆 Thank you for this informative video!
As I scroll, I skip & land. Then I seen the wood duck by LesleytheBirdNerd. Absolutely stunning!! Thank you to not just yourself but to those wishing to share in the hopes of conversation!
I haven't seen many wood ducks around here. But I have seen them other places. Just would love to see more of them. Had no idea the males only kept their plumage during mating season. Thank you to all who provided footage and Leslie! Great video 🤎💚🤍❤💙
I love ducks in general but I'm a huge fan of wood ducks! I've only seen them once in the wild which was a male/female pair in a nice patch of woods. Ever since then I've been in love with this species
A Wood Duck came down my chimney once, when I was living on the central-northern U.S. border. That was a little exciting. Got the poor, confused, sooty thing out without damage and figured my chimney could probably forego cleaning that fall.
One additional habitat where Wood Ducks are often found is public parks. San Diego is near the southern limit of Wood Duck, and it used to be considered a rare vagrant. But several of our local parks, including Santee Lakes in Santee and Lindo Lake in Lakeside (two suburban communities east of San Diego proper) host breeding populations of Wood Duck by providing nest boxes and suitable habitat. Similar stories can be told for other southern California communities. As a result, today we have flourishing populations of Wood Ducks in a region where Wood Duck would not otherwise occur.
Yes! I was surprised to see the variety of bird life in Lindo Lake in Lakeside CA. Not only wood ducks are found there, but also American Coots and others. How great that these species are encouraged in public lakes.
I love the way all these people share their photos and clips with you so you can make these presentations about particular birds, even ones not found in your area. I noted quite a number of names on the photos.
Yes are my favorite ducks! When I was stationed at Ft. Campbell, KY they would show up sometimes in the small wooded neighborhood water shed area! Only time I was able to get photos of them, but not very good since they were farther away since I was not in blind of any kind and knew I was there. No complaints, sadly I relocated that winter so wasn't able to prepare a natural ground blind for the spring in hopes that some will stop by again.
So, imagine my surprise, at the age of 58, as I'm sitting on my couch enjoying my morning coffee (in the spring of 2021) when, out of the corner of my eye, I see A DUCK land in a tree in the swamp in my back yard! A duck in a tree?! Never in my life!! Binoculars confirmed a wood duck hen! I sure hope life stays exciting! Thanks for another great video!
My sweet Lesley another delightful and pleasant informative share this time on the lovely Wood Ducks. Nature is sure so amazing and wonderful to watch , observe and always learn new things about. Nice to see all the images you presented of them from other channels. Thanks for sharing my friend. A pleasure as always Irene. 💕🥰👍
We have tons of ducks and mallards in IL. So many bodies of water and marshes around to provide for. At times they really get honking! I may not get some varieties of birds I wish we had, but all in all, I'm quite fortunate to live in an area that includes many species of!
This was very interesting! What a beautiful duck. I think we have them here in Wisconsin. I'll have to keep my eye out for them next spring. I've never seen one, I've never looked either though. I really enjoyed hearing about how they came back from near extinction. Thanks for the great video!!
Great video, as always! I always assumed they were a dabbling species! I had no idea they have strong claws for perching. Thanks so much for your content!
I had no idea how different wood ducks are from regular ducks and geese - and how beautiful! Another informative teaching moment from my favorite bird nerd!
We have two pairs of wood ducks come each year and have out with the mallards. Last year we had one male only though who hung out with the mallard gang for a long time. Usually the male will hang back on the bank while the female will wander in our backyard looking for food. Adorable. Especially when they take off and make that cute peeping call. We have a pair of ganders also. Last year we saw 12 chicks swimming behind their mother. Such a beautiful sight!
Seen a wood duck in the river with my daughter a few days ago… December 2023 here in central PA… beautiful duck. Never saw one before until then.. didn’t know what they were called till now. Thank you.
Lesley, I'm so glad that they never became extinct because they are beautiful!! I have never seen one before so your video was awesome!! Btw, I love the kitty pic you sent with the different colour eyes, so cute!! I tried to write you back but kept getting errors!!! Have a wonderful weekend beautiful!!! :D
I'm fortunate to live in a condo complex with a very large pond system in the center. We have dozens of wood ducks, and it's fascinating to watch them. They seem to be very social, and move as one large group.
I have seen a few wood ducks, even saw a mom and a bunch of ducklings, but have so far failed to get any good pictures of them. They are beautiful birds and one I hope to capture a good image of soon.
Very, very cool ducks. We have great numbers up around the cabin, the creek is near numerous oak trees and woodies love their acorns. And yes, we hunt them and eat them, they are a tasty bird. We also build nesting boxes to put on public lands. Such a unique bird and definitely the most beautiful of our local ducks.
A very handsome bird for sure. I didn’t realize the male’s beauty is not year round. I will have to pay closer attention to this. Great video as always, thanks for sharing.
Extraordinary! I learned a *lot* from this video Lesley. These certainly are unique ducks. Whilst I love the males' plumage with their bright, irridescant colours, I also loved the many, more subtle hues on the females' backs. Great photographs from those named! Thankyou.
Beautiful presentation once again Lesley! I found your link while looking up Wood Duck calls. I am hoping to once again have Wood Ducks nest in my box this year. ( It has been a few years since that happened-old box) I was very excited to have a female arrive today and spend 15 minutes checking out my new box that was a new installation last year , replacing a previously successful box that had been mounted too high (for maintenance) and on a tree and been overtaken by squirrels. I was able to film the male swimming in my pond below while the female was checking out the box. I sure hope she comes back to lay her eggs here. I do now have a camera mounted in the box and would love to witness this amazing process.
We installed a modest koi pond in our backyard among some old growth trees. Imagine my surprise to see a female wood duck and her offspring paddling happily around out there. Within a short time she led them off into a neighboring field. Happy day.
Very nice video, Lesley. I see Wood Ducks regularly in spring and summer here in Southeastern BC. When I lived in Calgary, Alberta, a small number of Wood Ducks could be seen in winter on the Elbow river amongst the flocks of Mallards. Always a treat to see Wood Ducks, even the females.
Anatidaephobia: Fear of a duck watching, is a phobia that originated from the "Far Side" comic strips by Gary Larson. People who suffer from this phobia have the notion that no matter where they are or what they do, a duck is observing them. This becomes so stressful that it robs them of their sleep and gives them severe anxiety. Before the comic strip, this wasn't a "real" thing, but apparently now that the idea is out there, it is.
