Wood ducks in Alberta?

[Talking moose]

Could of swore I seen a male and female on the NSR today. I looked at distribution map and they seem absent from Alberta. Anyone ever see one? This was east of Edmonton. Is there a duck that looks very close to a wood duck?

[schleprock]

We used to get them on my grandfathers homestead 30 kilometers north of Bonnyville. This was back in the late 70's though.

[JareS]

Fair amount of them breeding in Calgary. Don't see as many in the country. Saw one near PA a couple years back

[bessiedog]

One of the first ducks my pup ever retrieved..... it was amazing.
Ya they are actually pretty common.

There’s some around Muir Lake by Edmonton.

They nest along the OMR down here.

This guy came in with the geese at the goose patch one September.

[Zip-in-Z]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

Could of swore I seen a male and female on the NSR today. I looked at distribution map and they seem absent from Alberta. Anyone ever see one? This was east of Edmonton. Is there a duck that looks very close to a wood duck?

A banned member named .... Ninja something ??? you may remember him as Orest he lived in EDM, commented but no pic's on my Cavity Nesting Duck Houses Thread that he seen 1 -2 families of Wood ducks nesting in a tree on the NSR. Never seen any here in Sylvan in any of my nest boxes.

D.

[Ronji]

Mom and dad had a set nesting about 150 yards from their cabin on Wizard lake 2 years ago. First time I had ever seen wood ducks in my life.

[Strix]

Yes, there are wood ducks in Alberta, and in Edmonton. The older bird guides list them as rare but they are actually becoming more common in recent years. There are a number of reports of wood ducks seen on the North Saskatchewan river this spring by knowledgeable birders.

[trigger7mm]

My buddy shot a nice male woody a few miles north of Killam last fall. Have seen a couple more in the last several years from the same area.

[Osky]

We have many down here.
If you don't have boxes for them they need big trees. You might be surprised how far up they nest. They can be a long ways back from water, I've seen them in big trees 2-300 yards from any waterline. The little ducklings are made of rubber to survive that drop from the nest.
Good eating bird.

Osky

[Northwinds]

We actually have several pairs nesting here east of Wetaskiwin along the Battle River.They been here for about 5 years with more showing up every year.Our neighbour to the west is seeing them as well.

[Guide5689]

I’ve witness the chicks fall out the tree to learn to fly, pretty neat to see that happen in action. Amazing the ones that didn’t catch flight at first jump actually moved along from est. 30ft up.


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[happy honker]

I watched one come and go from it’s nest high up in a poplar for 3 days. It was so cool how it would come in with such speed and the sound it’s wings made.
Flying as fast as any duck you’d expect, and hitting the nest with such precision like a jet landing on an aircraft carrier.

[threeforthree]

cockatiel wallpaper

[johnnyringo]

If you follow Mike Drew of the Sunday Sun, he just had a picture of one last weekends paper. I've seen a few but always just in spring, never during hunting season.

[Reeves1]

See them every year flying along the creek in front of my place: Westlock.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Johnnyringo, if I was a wood duck I would not want to be seen during hunting season with us guys with 12 gauge under our arm.

[whitetail Junkie]

Not much into waterfowl as much these days however still appreciate The beauty of them.

[owlhoot]

I saw a mating pair on the N Ram river two years ago

[mudbug]

I see them on the Sturgeon river every year

[Quest206]

Lac La Biche area
I had one drop down my chimney during the day and when I got home from work there was bird sh!! and feathers all over the house. Finally found him in a bedroom jammed between the headboard and the wall. We were both glad to relocate him back outside.

[thumper]

Had a pair setting up shop in Canmore this spring. But then the neighbourhood goshawk took out the male !

[bigoldbear]

Edmonton Nature club members reported a couple wood duck on North Sask River this spring around the Quesnel Bridge

[1899b]

Originally Posted by schleprock

We used to get them on my grandfathers homestead 30 kilometers north of Bonnyville. This was back in the late 70's though.

I too remember my Grandfather pointing out a wood duck
or two when I was a kid on their homestead in Holyoke by Muriel Lake south of Bonnyville...

[Pioneer2]

I used to shoot woodies in the spruce swamps at last light ........they could corkscrew at full speed through the dead treetops and were hard to hit.Good table fare.In the early 80's I shot the only black duck in AB that year and another the following year by Buffalo Lake socializing with some mallards.

[Talking moose]

Well I’m convinced that’s what they were. Thx peoples.

[ttankster]

I came across one the other day, while out taking pictures...south of Calgary. The first one I've ever seen and photographed! A beautiful bird...

[IMG][/IMG]

[trigger7mm]

I was hunting in a pea field this fall east of Killam, and 3 ducks swung over my spread. I thought they were widgeon, and shot two of them. As the last one flew by behind me and the sun hit it, a saw that it was a drake wood duck. I then realized what I may have just done. Sure enough I had two beautiful drake woodies on the ground. They were the first I’ve ever shot in 50 years of waterfowl hunting. One is at the taxidermist now. I don’t ever want to kill another one, because they are so pretty, and because they are so rare around here.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by Zip-in-Z

A banned member named .... Ninja something ??? you may remember him as Orest he lived in EDM, commented but no pic's on my Cavity Nesting Duck Houses Thread that he seen 1 -2 families of Wood ducks nesting in a tree on the NSR. Never seen any here in Sylvan in any of my nest boxes.

D.

Water Ninja, his name is Ernest .
Cat

[Lefty-Canuck]

A buddy shot 2 last year in Alberta and is having them mounted.

LC

[Red Bullets]

I watched a couple pairs of wood ducks nesting on a tributary creek to the NSR near Edmonton for several years. Nesting in old growth dead cottonwood trees.