An Exotic Native

One of my top photographic muses is the wood duck. I first saw them here in Seattle, on Union Bay. At that point I was familiar with several species of dabbling ducks that live on that stretch of Lake Washington. There are plenty of mallards of course, but gadwalls, northern shovelers and green-winged teals are regular sights as well, not to mention diving ducks like common and hooded mergansers. But the first time I saw a wood duck swim out from behind the cattails I was stunned. It was so striking, and clearly from a different taxa than all of the other ducks. It looked so exotic to me.

'Wood Drake Yoga' 

Indeed, the wood duck is the only member of it's genus, Aix, in North America. It's closest relative is the equally striking mandarin duck of Asia. Meanwhile genus Anas, which includes the ubiquitous mallards, totals eleven North American species. While wood ducks look exotic next to all of those species they are in fact native.

Wood ducks share habitat and feeding habits with mallards, but the fact that they're from a separate evolutionary lineage is easily inferred by their radically different appearance.

A wood duck pair "fords" a fallen tree.

Like their neighbors in genus Anas wood ducks are dabblers. That means use their bills to gather food at or near the surface of the water. Seattle Audubon reports that that food is primarily the seeds of aquatic plants, but also includes insects and other invertebrates as well as plenty of acorns when and where they're available. (http://washington.www.birdweb.org/Birdweb/bird/wood_duck) I have noticed that they also seem fond of the rhizomes of cattails and other aquatic plants.  

The hen is eating some kind of rhizome. They were swimming along looking for food, her in front, when the drake pulled the rhizome out of the water. He got her attention and when she turned around and approached him he dropped it in the water for her to pick up. What a gent!

The features that make wood drakes so beautiful also make them somewhat difficult to photograph. It's a balance between not underexposing the black feathers and not overexposing the highly reflective white stripes and red eyes and bill.

Wood drake hens are as lovely as the drakes are handsome. While less colorful than their mates they are more colorful than females of any of the Anas species. Unlike those species, who generally nest on the ground, wood duck hens nest in tree cavities. Since they are hidden inside their trees they don't require the camouflage while nesting that ground nesters do. 

While the feeding habits of wood ducks are the same as those of mallards the fact that they nest in tree cavities clearly sets them apart. It also limits the areas they can live in. As their name implies, and their nesting habits show, wood ducks require wooded habitat. And not just any woods will do. There must be snags (dead trees) large enough to accommodate a wood duck hen and her eggs. But also, where do these nest cavities come from? Wood duck cannot excavate their own nest sites. Frequently they are the former nest cavities of the very large pileated woodpeckers, who conveniently tend to create new cavities for themselves each year.

This evolutionary relationship between mature forests, plieated woodpeckers and wood ducks goes back many millennia. But in just a few centuries extensive deforestation across North America has severely reduced populations of wood ducks, pileated woodpeckers and so many other species. For this reason it is amazing to me that the city of Seattle is home to wood ducks and the pileated woodpeckers that provide them with nest sites. It goes to show how valuable remnant patches of habitat are, and hints at the future biological promise of secondary forests if we manage them with the needs of wildlife in mind.

Some people must be given credit for helping wood ducks recover from historical population lows that other people caused. Duck-loving conservationists have done this through the simple act of building nest boxes and installing them on trees by ponds and marshes. But it is my great hope that we as a society will move towards protecting the mature forests that remain and facilitating the regeneration of as many of those that have been cleared as possible. This would be for the ultimate good, not just of wood ducks, pileated woodpeckers and myriad other species, but for human beings as well. As the negative effects of climate change accelerate alarmingly around the globe the immense value of carbon sequestration by the world's forests is driven home. Forests also recharge local stores of fresh water, a dangerously dwindling resource in more and more parts of the world. 

I deeply hope that everyone that reads this (and more importantly the many, many more that don't) will give the issue of forest protection and restoration serious thought and intention. But I don't want to end this on a heavy note. So let's look at some more pictures of one of the many great reasons to love and protect our forests: Aix sponsa, the wood duck.

'Dazzled Drake'

Yeah, buddy.  She's gorgeous. Don't screw it up.

These drakes are competing for the attention of nearby hens. 

Two different drakes at a different time and place. One appeared to be mated to a hen he was traveling with. When the other showed up they chased each other around for a while, but the aggression seemed ceremonial and before long the bachelor went on his way. 

These two obviously like each other. Once they pair up he won't leave her side until she hits the nest. But alas that is where the romance ends. She's on her own to incubate the eggs and teach the chicks how to be wood ducks after they hatch. 

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