I watched a male Wood Duck on a small pond in Sharon/Strafford. I noticed him when he got down off a small tussock, mostly mud with some brown vegetation, and swam off. I checked the tussock with binos and observed a female on a nest. She was very still and I could not see her face or eye-markings and I did not have a scope, but I could see well enough to observe that the nest was lined with down.

I was surprised because I thought Wood Ducks are cavity nesters. The Birder's Handbook confirms that they "prefer tree cavities". This particular arrangement looked a bit precarious -- the tussock is very small and exposed. Does anyone else have experience with non-cavity nesting Wood Ducks?

Miriam Newman


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