The Wood Duck and it

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The Wood Duckand its conservation By Matt
Maguet
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History of the Wood Duck

• Many consder the wood duck to be North Americas
  most colorful waterfowl.
• Today the wood duck is one of the most common
  waterfowl in the United Sates.
• This was not always the case.
• In the early 19th century, they were very
  abundant and were taken for their meat and
  feathers.
• In the late 1880s, unregulated hunting and the
  destruction of woodland and wetland habitat
  caused the wood duck population to decline
  rapidly.

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History of the Wood Duck

• They were rare to see by the beginning of the
  20th century and on their way to extinction.
• The wood duck was able to recover due to the
  Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act which stopped
  the hunting of the wood duck nation wide and then
  was re-opened for hunting in 1941.

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Classification

• Kingdom Animalia
• Phylum Chordata
• Class Aves
• Order Anseriformes
• Family Anatidae
• Subfamily Anatinae
• Tribe Cairinini
• Genus Aix
• Species Aix sponsa

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Description

• Length 19-21 in
• Wingspan 26-29 in
• Weight 16-30 ounces
• - medium-sized duck

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Description

• Male (breeding) Plumage (Fall to early summer)
• Red bill
• Red eye
• Green head
• White stripes on face and crest with large white
  throat patch
• Dark reddish breast
• White belly
• Iridescent dark green-blue back and wings
• Golden flanks

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Description

• Male Plumage (non-breeding)
• Male is gray like the female
• Has red eye
• Has red beak
• Distinctive white patch

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Description

• Female
• Gray bill
• White teardrop shaped patch around eye
• White throat
• Gray-brown head and neck
• Gray-brown breast and white belly
• Dark brown back

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Food Source

• Wood Ducks are omnivores
• Nuts
• Fruits
• Aquatic plants
• Seeds
• Aquatic insects
• Other invertebrates (e.g. snails and slugs)

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Habitat

• Woodland areas along
• Lakes
• Rivers
• Creeks
• Beaver and farm ponds
• Other freshwater vegetated wetland areas

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Range
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Reproduction

• The wood Duck breeds in Feb. and early March
• Two broods are produced in southern areas
• Copulation occurs in the water

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Copualation

• Step 1

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Step 2
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Step 3
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Step 4
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Nest and Clutch

• Wood Ducks nest in tree cavities
• 6-15 eggs per clutch
• Nests are lined with wood chips and down
• Eggs incubate for about 30 days
• Ducklings hatch 6 to 18 hours after their shell
  is cracked.
• Leave nest within 24 hours

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Lifespan/Longevity

• Average life span is three to four years
• Around 85 of chicks die within the first two
  weeks of hatching due to mainly predation.
• Known predators are
• Red and Gray foxes
• Raccoons
• Alligators
• Rat and Black snakes

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Harvest

• Wood Ducks make up around 10 of yearly duck
  harvest in the U.S.
• 2nd to Mallards
• In 2000 and 2001 1 to 1.3 million wood ducks were
  harvested.

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Conservation of the Wood Duck

• Conservation status is (lc) Lower risk
• Estimated population is around 2 million although
  it is hard to estimate.

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Conservation Measures

• Daily Bag limit
• Limit is 2 in KY.
• Two in most of other states
• Wood Duck Nest Boxes
• Estimated 300,000 nest boxes produce 100,000
  ducklings annually
• Can increase populations in areas where the
  female has a hard time finding a nest.
• Can also help the survival of ducklings
• Private landowners helped re-populate by putting
  up nest boxes.

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Nest box design

• Nest boxes should be made of weather resistant
  wood such as cedar or cypress.
• The entrance hole should be 4 inches in diameter.
• A 3 inch wide strip of ¼ -inch mesh hardware
  cloth should be fastened to the inside of the box
  under the entrance to be a ladder for the hen and
  the new ducklings.
• The cut edges of the cloth should be folded back
  to avoid injury to the ducklings.
• Saw dust should be put in the bottom for nesting
  material.
• One side of the box should be removable for
  cleaning.
• It should be fitted with a galvanized sheet metal
  predator guard.

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Nest box design
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Wood Duck Management

• Food
• Plant and preserve trees, shrubs, and herbaceous
  food.
• Establish shallow water areas and artificial
  wetlands.
• Supply winter water on cropland and woodland.
• Nesting Cover
• Provide nesting boxes near wetlands.
• Preserve old growth timber conducive to tree
  cavities.

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Mangement

• Brood-rearing cover
• Restore hydrology on drained forested wetland
• Restore hydrology and vegetation on drained and
  cropped wetland.
• Put vegetation near streams
• Water
• Establish bottomland hardwood

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Facts

• The ducklings jump to the ground out of the nest
  as their mother calls them.
• She does not help in any way
• They can jump close to 300 feet without getting
  hurt.
• The wood duck is the only North American Duck
  that regularly produces two broods in a year.

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Kentucky Wood Duck Hunting Season

• Season Dates September 21-25
• Daily limit 2
• Possession limit 4

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• How much wood could a wood duck chuck if a wood
  duck could chuck wood?