Red Band: Ontario

You’re a Wood duck!

You were banded in a wooded beaver pond (which is a type of wetland) near Lake Ontario in spring where you were nesting.

A year earlier your parents came here to nest too. Your mom laid you and nine other creamy white eggs in an old woodpecker hole. Like most wood ducks, your mom preferred to nest in a natural cavity, or hole in a tree. Many people help wood ducks by putting up wooden “nest boxes” for them to build nests in.

When the weather turned cold in the fall, you migrated south. You found a winter home along the coast of South Carolina, U.S.A. where there were plenty of plants and seeds to eat.

When you return to Canada next spring, you’ll look just like your famous dad, with a colourful head and shiny feathers.

Download your certificate here to share with your friends and family.

FAST FACTS:

• one of the most colourful and beautiful ducks
• has sharp claws for perching in trees
• feeds on acorns
• use hollows in old trees for nesting
• through Ducks Unlimited Canada’s efforts people have installed thousands of nest boxes in wetlands to help create plenty of nest spots for wood ducks and others, helping to conserve this beautiful bird