The wonder of wood ducks

Editor’s note: Environmental Communications Specialist Brett Peto wrote this article, which originally appeared in Horizons magazine.

Daredevil duckling

One day after hatching, a baby wood duck is ready to take a remarkable leap of faith. The fluffy chick climbs to the narrow opening of its nest and peeks over the edge. Its mother paddles in a sluggish river below.

She selected the nesting site earlier in spring: a cozy cavity 45 feet above the ground inside a sturdy bur oak tree. It’s been a safe home for her to incubate and hatch 11 offspring the past three months. A new season of their lives starts today.

Above, the newborn duckling jumps out of the tree. This isn’t flight practice, but the bird opens its tiny wings to soften the fall. It weighs less than a slice of bread.

The water greets it with a splash, dunking the nestling, then springing it back up. The mother calls her baby over but otherwise hangs back. More of her young take the leap, a couple minutes apart.

Those that hesitate tend to be nudged out of the nest by their siblings. Soon, a flock of chicks forms in the river.

They’ve made it unharmed and ready to search for food. The daredevil ducklings will stay with their parent for just 5-6 weeks.

Early birds

Many birds, including wood ducks, use an adaptive strategy called precociality. Young are born with mobility, open eyes, large brains and basic abilities to defend themselves or flee from predators.

“They have fuzzy down and the urge and ability to leave home and find food,” said Education Site Specialist Jen Berlinghof. Wood ducks take a year to reach sexual maturity. Males, or drakes, are vibrantly colored to attract females, or hens.

Drakes seem ready for a soiree. Their heads shimmer green, supported by a chestnut breast and yellow-brown sides. Hens display a white teardrop around their eyes and a navy patch on the speculum, the part of the wing closest to the body.

Just 17 of more than 120 duck species worldwide perch in trees. Wood ducks are the only perching ducks native to the U.S. and Canada. Strong claws on their webbed feet help them cling to branches and access their nests.

This is unusual for dabbling ducks. That name doesn’t mean they like to pick up new hobbies. It describes how they feed.

Dabblers eat at or below the water’s surface, and sometimes on land. They tip their heads underwater and raise their rear ends, as if performing a handstand. Seeds, fruits, plants and insects are on the menu.

Home is where the hen is

Adult wood ducks search for mates in fall and pair up by midwinter for a one-year partnership. In spring, they fly north together to breeding grounds in the northern U.S. and southern Canada.

Hens tend to return to where they hatched or nested the previous year. Drakes follow their chosen mate. So, a drake may migrate to Michigan one year, a Lake County forest preserve the next.

“The mated couples inspect old woodpecker holes, tree cavities and wood duck boxes for a nesting spot,” Berlinghof said. “Typically, the male will perch nearby while the female tips her head into each potential home before selecting the best nest.”

The parents-to-be often choose openings 2-60 feet off the ground within waterfront trees. The hen pads the nest with down she plucks from her breast, laying one egg a day and 6-16 eggs total.

But the nest may contain up to 40 eggs “due to a unique behavior called compound nesting,” or eggdumping, said Berlinghof. “Female wood ducks will lay eggs in multiple nests nearby. The nest owner will incubate them with her brood and raise them as if they were her own.”

After about a month of incubation, the chicks hatch out of glossy, tan eggs within a few hours of each other if from the same mother. The next morning, the ducklings will take the same leap from the trees their parents once did. Upon reaching ground level, they don’t look back.

• Kim Mikus is a communications specialist for the Lake County Forest Preserves. She writes a bimonthly column about various aspects of the preserves. Contact her with ideas or questions at kmikuscroke@LCFPD.org. Connect with the Lake County Forest Preserves on social media @LCFPD.

Wood Duck Whereabouts

In addition to tree cavities, human-made nest boxes are popular with this species. Wood ducks begin arriving in this area each February, then nest from March to July. Look for them in preserves with trees and nesting boxes near water bodies.