Page 44 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2021

SPORTS & OUTDOORS
story by John N. Felsher
photo courtesy of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
M EXCITING DUCK MAKES MAJOR COMEBACK
IN NUMBERS
any people Fortunately, these handsome ducks rebounded remarkably consider drake in recent years and today rank among the most regionally wood ducks common waterfowl in the lower Mississippi Flyway. In among the most many areas across Mississippi, wood ducks come in second striking birds in only to mallards among birds found in hunter bags.
the world. People “Wood ducks are very common across Mississippi commonly see the colorful speedsters around the Magnolia wherever they can find suitable habitat,” explained
State now, but the species suffered hard times not so long Houston Havens, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, ago. Fisheries & Parks waterfowl program coordinator. “They
Wood ducks prefer quiet rivers, bayous, swamps, ponds, are mostly distributed around forested areas with wetlands
lakes and other sluggish, freshwater systems lined by trees. They consume large quantities of acorns, their favorite food. One of the few ducks that can land in trees, woodies rely heavily upon woodpecker holes or other natural cavities in tree trunks for nesting. Extensive wetland logging across the Deep South in the late 19th and early 20th centuries decimated wood duck populations.
in them. That could be bottomland hardwoods with some wetlands or along the rivers and creeks. They like to go in smaller tributaries off main streams.”
Since woodies traditionally nest in tree cavities, many private and public groups over the years built nesting boxes to supplement natural holes and placed them in suitable habitat. These usually look like a box on a pole or nailed to
44 | December 2021 www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living