March 10, 2000

     Duck Houses

Wood ducks are early to arrive in spring, and many people are now on the lookout for pairs in their neighborhoods. 7nbsp;Unquestionably, the drake wood duck is the most beautiful of all waterfowl, with the female also being more colorful than the females of other species.   Both are crested, multicolored ducks.  The male is patterned in iridescent greens, purples and blues and has a distinctive white chin patch while the duller-colored female has a broad white eye-ring.  Weighing 1½ pounds, they sit lightly on the water with the long tails well above the surface.

Appropriately named, the wood duck is found near wooded lakes and streams, feeding on certain insects and plant materials from duckweeds to acorns, which are crushed in the gizzard.  Although woodies winter mainly in southern parts of the United States and into central Mexico, a few stay in Minnesota.

Wood ducks nest in trees but only in natural cavities in the trunk or large branches.  They prefer hollow trees close to water, but if such trees are not available, they will nest further away and will also use nesting boxes set up in the right locations.  The hole chosen may be close to or as high as 50 feet above the ground.  No outside material is transported to the nest by the bird, but it makes use of any chips or other material that may already be there and mixes down from its breast with it.