ANIMAL ESTATE client 1.03: WOOD DUCK
FROM ANIMAL ESTATES 1.0: NEW YORK, NY
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Aix sponsa
ANIMAL PROFILE: Wood Duck { Aix sponsa } is a medium-sized perching duck. A typical adult is about 19 inches in length with an average wingspan of 29 inches. This is about three-quarters of the length of an adult Mallard. It shares its genus with the Asian Mandarin Duck. The adult male has distinctive multi-colored iridescent plumage and red eyes. The female, less colorful, has a white eye-ring and a whitish throat. Both adults have crested heads. When swimming, wood ducks bob their head back and forth in a jerking motion, which makes them easy to spot. Their personality is somewhat shy and skittish.
RANGE: Aix sponsa is found on the east coast of North America from Nova Scotia in the north, to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico in the south, and west to the center of the United States. Birds in the eastern part of the range migrate southeast in the winter. Wood ducks are also found from British Columbia to the Mexican border on the west coast. They spend the winter in southern California and the Mexican Pacific coast. Wood ducks in the southern part of the range do not migrate. ( The Georgia Museum of Natural History and Georgia Department of Natural Resources, 2000 ; U.S. Department of Agriculture et al., 1999 )
HABITAT: Wood ducks occupy a wide variety of habitats including woodland areas along lakes, rivers, creeks, beaver and farm ponds and various other freshwater vegetated wetland areas. Because wood ducks are cavity nesters, the availability of nesting sites within one mile of water is necessary. Winter habitats are the same as those used during breeding. ( Hepp and Bellrose, 1995 ; The Georgia Museum of Natural History and Georgia Department of Natural Resources, 2000 ; U.S. Department of Agriculture et al., 1999 )
COMMUNITY:
HOME CONSTRUCTION: Wood Ducks prefer nesting over water so the young have a soft landing, but will nest up to 150 yards (140 m) away from the shoreline. nest box plans / link 2 / pdf guide
BUILDING MATERIALS: Nests are built in cavities and are lined with wood chips and down.
BUILDING MOTIVATION: Females lay 6 to 15 eggs. It is not uncommon for a nest to have more than 15 eggs because at times other females will lay their eggs in the nests (a behavior called egg-dumping). Eggs are incubated for about 30 days and the chicks leave the nest within 24 hours of hatching. Chicks reach independence in 56 to 70 days and reach sexual maturity in one year. ( Ehrlich, Dobkin, and Wheye, 1988 ; Hepp and Bellrose, 1995 ; The Georgia Museum of Natural History and Georgia Department of Natural Resources, 2000 )
THREATS: The most common predators of A.sponsa are great horned owls ( Bubo virginianus ), mink (Genus Mustela ), raccoons ( Procyon lotor ), red foxes ( Vulpes vulpes ), gray foxes ( Urocyon cinereoargenteus ), alligators ( Alligator mississippiensis ) and black rat snakes ( Elaphe obsoleta ). Female wood ducks have an alarm call that alerts the ducklings of the presence of a predator. The ducklings will search for cover in the water while the mother swims away from them or feigns a broken wing to protect them.
Within the first two weeks of hatching, 86 to 90 percent of the chicks die. A main cause of mortality is predation. ( Hepp and Bellrose, 1995 )
INTERESTING FACTS: Wood ducks sometimes occupy hooded merganser ( Lophodytes cucullatus ) nests and when hooded merganser eggs are left in the nests, wood ducks incubate the merganser eggs as well as their own . ( Hepp and Bellrose, 1995 )
MAKING A WOOD DUCK HOME: Wood ducks are highly secretive in selecting nest sites to minimize impacts of nest predators and competition from other wood ducks. Therefore, it is important to locate individual nest boxes in relatively secluded areas within timber stands where natural cavities would occur naturally. Nest boxes can be placed either on land or over the water. If located over the water, they should be placed at least 4 feet above the high water level and the entrance hole should face the open water rather than the shoreline. Because of ease of access by predators, installation of nest boxes directly on trees should be avoided. Nest boxes placed on land should be located from 30 to 150 feet away from the shoreline. Boxes placed directly on the shoreline appear to be more likely frequented by nest predators. Since the hen must lead her ducklings to water soon after they hatch, the area between the nest box and the water's edge should be free of any major obstacles such as roads or fencing. Nest boxes placed on poles over water are generally easier to monitor than those placed in trees. Regardless of whether the box is placed over the water or land, the entrance should be clear of obstructions to provide easy access for the ducks. USGS
REFERENCES:
Pope, A. 2004. "Aix sponsa" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed November 09, 2007 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Aix_sponsa.html .
Alabama Game and Fish Division. 2002. "Wood Duck" (On-line). Private Forest Management Team. Accessed March 29, 2004 at http://www.pfmt.org/wildlife/somethings/wood_duck.htm .
Ehrlich, P., D. Dobkin, D. Wheye. 1988. The Birder's Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds . New York: Simon and Schuster.
Hepp, G., F. Bellrose. 1995. The Birds of North America . Philadelphia, PA: The American Ornithologist' Union and The Academy of Natural Sciences.
Ray, L. 2002. "Species: Aix sponsa, The North American Wood Duck" (On-line). Accessed March 18, 2003 at http://richland.uwc.edu/Dept/Biology/accounts/woodduck.htm .
The Georgia Museum of Natural History and Georgia Department of Natural Resources. 2000. "Wood Duck, Aix sponsa" (On-line). Accessed March 29, 2003 at http://museum.nhm.uga.edu/gawildlife/birds/anseriformes/asponsa.html .
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Madison, MS, and Wildlife Habitat Council. 1999. "Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)" (On-line). Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. Accessed March 29, 2004 at http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/1999/woodduck/woodduck.htm .
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: