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| Male wood duck at Santee Lakes |
With its ornate plumage, the male wood duck (shown here) is
among the most easily recognized waterfowl species in the U.S. As is true
throughout most of the bird world, the female is more drab because of the need
to be camouflaged from predators.
Unlike most waterfowl, wood ducks perch and nest in trees.
They are one of the few duck species with strong claws that can grip bark and
perch on branches.
Wood ducks feed primarily on plants, but will also consume
seeds, fruit and insects.
We’re fortunate to have a year-round population that resides
near Lake 5 at the Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve. These birds nest in holes
in trees or in nest boxes put up around the shoreline of a lake.
