Wonderful 'woodies'

The Wood Duck, or more correctly, Australian Wood Duck, is a common site in and around urban Drouin. At present, many of our wetland areas will have at least one pair of ‘woodies’ with a clutch of ducklings.

At Thomas Maddock Reserve

The Australian Wood Duck, Chenonetta jubata, (Chenonetta = goose or duck, and jubata = maned or crested) often called the maned goose or maned duck, is certainly a duck and not a goose. Geese have more bones in their necks than ducks and hence have longer necks. Geese are usually larger than ducks, have narrower bills, more elongated bodies, and are nearly always monomorphic. Geese tend to ‘honk’, whereas ducks nearly always ‘quack’.

Our Wood Ducks are grazing ducks, which is probably why they are sometimes referred to as geese.

At Bellbird Park

Woodies have adapted well to urban places – they love our parks, gardens, nature strips, and wetlands. They generally only appear on the water to rest or seek refuge from dogs and excitable children.

At McNeilly Park

Wood Ducks usually nest in a large tree hollow or the fork of a big tree. They will take to an artificial nest box at times. Like other duck species that nest high in a tree, the ducklings must face ‘jump day’ when the time comes to vacate the nest before they can fly – there are many wonderful videos of this amazing act of nature.

Wood Ducks are mostly a sedentary species with perhaps some dispersal occurring as a result of seasonal changes. They have benefited greatly from our farming practices and construction of urban wetlands.

Common, abundant, attractive up close, and welcome.