Guide

Go seeBirds

Wood duck mothers lead ducklings through shoreline cover

May to July

Wood ducks nest in tree holes, and a day or so after hatching the ducklings jump out at their mother's call, sometimes dropping 40 feet without harm, and follow her to the water. On beaver ponds and slow rivers, look for a hen with a line of ducklings slipping along the shrubby edge.

Why this time of year

Mass Audubon's atlas gives three main hatch times in Massachusetts: May 10 to May 31 for adult hens, June 1 to June 21 for yearlings, and June 22 to July 19 for hens that nest again. The young take about 60 days to fly.

How to notice it

  1. Paddle quietly along the shrubby edges of a beaver pond, wooded swamp, or slow river, especially where buttonbush and other plants give cover, and look for a gray-headed hen with a white patch around the eye, trailed by small ducklings.
  2. Listen for the hen's loud, squealing wee-ee-k.
  3. When you spot them, stop paddling and let the hen lead the brood back into cover; wood ducks are secretive and seldom stay on open water.
  4. Look up at the big trees near the shore for holes or nest boxes, the kind of spot the ducklings jumped from.

Try this with kids: Can you count the ducklings in the line without moving the boat closer?

Safety

  • Massachusetts requires canoeists and kayakers to wear a life jacket from September 15 to May 15, and youth under 12 years of age must wear one; the state recommends wearing a life jacket every time you are on the water.

Sources

  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon Breeding Bird Atlas 1 account (Wood Duck): found on beaver ponds, river floodplains, slow-moving streams, deep marshes throughout the state; "Secretive ducks, they prefer the cover of Buttonbush and emergent vegetation and are not often seen on open water"; female gives a squealing wee-ee-k; main hatch times May 10-31 (adults), June 1-21 (yearlings), June 22-July 19 (renesters); ducklings leave the nest 24 to 36 hours after hatching, jumping at the mother's call, "sometimes dropping 40 feet or more without mishap"; hen leads ducklings to water; young fledge in about 60 days. read 2026-11-10
  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon Breeding Bird Atlas 2 account: "Very widespread and likely increasing"; found in almost 70% of blocks statewide, patchy in the southeast and highest western elevations; after hatching the hen coaxes ducklings into leaping down from the nest into the water below, where they follow behind her. read 2026-11-10
  • audubon.orgNational Audubon field guide: female has white eye-patch on gray head; female call a loud wooo-eeek; habitat wooded swamps, rivers, ponds, slow-moving rivers, often where large trees overhang the water. read 2026-11-10
  • web.archive.orgMass.gov Massachusetts Boating Law Summary (Internet Archive copy dated 2025-12-17; mass.gov itself returns 403 to the fetch tool): "In Massachusetts, PFDs are required to be worn by: Youth under 12 years of age ... Canoeists/kayakers from September 15 - May 15". read 2026-11-10
  • web.archive.orgMassWildlife (DFW) Boating safety page (Internet Archive copy dated 2023-08-17): life jackets must be worn by canoeists and kayakers from September 15 - May 15 and youth under 12; "It is recommended that you wear a life jacket every time you are on the water." read 2026-11-10

Checked against these sources on November 10, 2026.

In the guide for May, June, July

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