Wood Duck - Duck Hunting - Wetland Hunting

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Wood Duck

 

Description

Wood ducks or Woodies are the most beautiful and exclusive birds in North America. They are the second most popular hunted ducks after the mallards. Due to its beauty, it's eye-catching and more susceptible to predators and, therefore, more cautious to hunters. Typically, these creatures nest in woodland areas, on lakes, rivers, and wetland areas. They prefer a mix of water habitats and forests.

Here's what you need to be a successful wood ducks hunter.

Tailor the Spread
If you want a wood duck to ignore your decoy, you should set it in the fly away zone. Instead, place it in their feeding destinations in the early mornings or late evenings before roost. If your setup is correct, these creatures will drop into your setup like a flock of mallards.

Try hen welcome calls
Under the right circumstances, wood ducks come right to hen welcome calls. This is especially the case when they are on the water. Woodies often paddle in just like aquatic turkeys to chuckles and squeals. They rarely swim across open water, but theyll often swim along the shoreline heading to your setup. Once they are lured into range, you can stand and flush them out of the water for a sporting shot.

Jump-shoot midday
Other forms of hunting are slowing you down? Then its time for jump-shooting. With this method, you dont need an abundance of wood ducks to be successful. Generally, wood ducks are susceptible to jump-shooting, especially at midday when the population of the ducks is dispersed in a specific area. You can walk quietly along the forest creek, and get ready for this exercise.

If you have a partner, you can team up. Let him or her move downstream, as wood ducks follow the water as they try to flee an approaching hunter, thus providing an excellent pass shooting.

Scout covertly
Your main goal should not only be to find birds but also to avoid detection. These game birds tend to vanish when disturbed. You should, therefore, approach suspected haunts with caution. Your ears can help you tell where these creatures are. Since they are very vocal on the water, you can listen to their squeals and chuckles near the water bodies. The surrounding trees will allow you to creep along creeks and swamps unnoticed.

The Takeaway
Wondering how you can identify a wood duck? Well, these ducks have a dark blue speculum patch on their wings and weighs up to 450g. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip back and perch on branches. The male duck has a crested head, chestnut breast, and other bold markings. The female duck has a warm brown plumage with grayer, slightly crested head, and a white teardrop around the eye.


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