Wood Duck

Aix sponsa · Waterfowl

Wood Duck, female

Prospect Park, 23 May 2026

A female Wood Duck on Prospect Park Lake, the plainer half of a pair that will nest in a hole in one of the old trees at the water's edge. Wood Ducks are birds of wooded ponds and swamps across the continent, and the female does all the sitting.

None of the drake's iridescence, but a field mark of her own: a bold white, teardrop-shaped eye-ring that stands out even at a distance on an otherwise soft grey-brown head. The muted colouring isn't a lesser version of the male's plumage so much as its own adaptation, camouflage suited to weeks spent motionless on a nest.

Wood Ducks, males

Prospect Park, 23 May 2026

Three drake Wood Ducks in full breeding plumage on Prospect Park Lake, among the most ornately patterned ducks in North America and birds of wooded water across the continent. The park's lake, with old trees at the edge, is exactly what they need.

Wood Ducks nest in tree cavities, sometimes well away from water, and the ducklings - unable to fly and with no way down except to jump - simply do exactly that within a day of hatching, bouncing off the ground or water below largely unharmed thanks to their light weight.

Wood Duck, male, on a broken trunk

San Diego, 6 March 2026

A drake Wood Duck resting on a broken trunk angled into the sun beside a San Diego pond in March, and he stayed long enough for the light and the reflection to be worked properly. Wood Ducks are birds of wooded water across the continent, and the western ones are resident all year.

They are the one North American duck that perches in trees as a matter of course - the claws are sharp enough to grip bark - and they nest in holes well above the ground, which is where the ducklings begin life with a jump.

Wood Duck, male

San Diego, 6 March 2026

A drake Wood Duck on a Californian pond in March, the most ornately patterned duck in North America and a bird of wooded swamps and slow rivers from coast to coast. The western population is resident; the eastern one moves south for the winter.

It is hard to argue with the name looking at this much iridescent green and maroon packed onto one small bird. The red eye and red-based bill are adult male features year-round; the white throat markings that sweep up around the face are what separate this species from every other North American duck at a glance.

Wood Ducks at a nest cavity

San Diego, 6 March 2026

A pair of Wood Ducks investigating a natural hollow in a broken trunk beside a San Diego pond. Wood Ducks are birds of wooded water across North America, and they nest in tree cavities, sometimes thirty feet or more off the ground, which is what this pair is checking.

The ducklings' first act in life is to jump from the entrance to the ground or water below, bouncing off the impact essentially unharmed. The male, on the left, carries by far the more ornate plumage of the two; the female's subtler brown-and-white is built for sitting on eggs unnoticed.

Wood Duck

Prospect Park, 15 November 2025

A drake Wood Duck in full plumage on Prospect Park Lake in November, doubled in water still enough to hold the reflection almost perfectly. Wood Ducks are birds of wooded ponds and swamps across the continent, nesting in tree holes, and the park's lake with its old trees at the edge holds them all year.

Regularly named among the most ornately patterned ducks in North America. It was nearly hunted out by 1900 for the plumage and the meat, and came back on the strength of nest boxes and a hunting ban.