– ACORNS ARE a favorite fall food of the wood duck. They also dine on other nuts, fruits, wild rice and insects. The young eat insects and duck weed.

THE BIRD’S NUMBERS declined drastically in the early 1900s due to wetland drainage, unregulated hunting and logging. A nesting box project, in which Mainers have enthusiastically participated, has helped revive the wood duck population.

WOOD DUCKS range throughout Maine. The male is brilliantly colored with iridescent shades of chestnut, purple and green, red eyes and a distinctive crest on its head. The female is grayish-brown, the better to camouflage her from predators.

SOURCE: “CRITTERS OF MAINE”