Wood Duck
Wood Duck has risen sharply: up 62% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the Wood Duck
The Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) is a North American member of the Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl (Anatidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the waterfowl.
- Size
- 12–43.5 in long (30–110 cm) — a medium to large waterfowl (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Lakes, ponds, rivers, marshes and sheltered coastal waters.
- Diet
- Aquatic plants, seeds and invertebrates, dabbled at the surface or dived for.
- Range
- Recorded on 2,318 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 48 states, most concentrated in the Appalachian Mountains.
- Family
- Anatidae · Waterfowl
Notable Wood Duck Trends
Wood Duck has risen sharply in surveyed states: up 62% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
Wood Duck Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Wood Duck is projected to rise about 41% by 2029 — from 0.31 in 2024 to a central estimate of 0.44 (95% range 0.29–0.58). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±36.8%, with 80% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.43 | 0.28 | 0.57 |
| 2026 | 0.43 | 0.29 | 0.57 |
| 2027 | 0.43 | 0.29 | 0.57 |
| 2028 | 0.43 | 0.29 | 0.58 |
| 2029 | 0.44 | 0.29 | 0.58 |
Where the Wood Duck Is Detected
BBS routes recording Wood Duck, sized by most recent count.
Wood Duck Population Trend by State
| Alabama | +150% | 1969 | 88 |
| Arizona | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Arkansas | +172% | 1969 | 45 |
| California | +24% | 1971 | 65 |
| Colorado | insufficient data | n/a | 8 |
| Connecticut | -13% | 1969 | 20 |
| Delaware | +73% | 1968 | 13 |
| Florida | -54% | 1968 | 87 |
| Georgia | -39% | 1968 | 93 |
| Idaho | +131% | 1980 | 8 |
| Illinois | +26% | 1968 | 95 |
| Indiana | +191% | 1968 | 65 |
| Iowa | +347% | 1972 | 34 |
| Kansas | +370% | 1970 | 47 |
| Kentucky | +280% | 1968 | 54 |
| Louisiana | +213% | 1969 | 75 |
| Maine | +7% | 1976 | 39 |
| Maryland | +329% | 1968 | 69 |
| Massachusetts | +154% | 1970 | 27 |
| Michigan | +160% | 1970 | 83 |
| Minnesota | +22% | 1969 | 83 |
| Mississippi | +318% | 1968 | 51 |
| Missouri | +220% | 1971 | 71 |
| Montana | -40% | 1985 | 26 |
| Nebraska | +528% | 1973 | 53 |
| Nevada | insufficient data | n/a | 3 |
| New Hampshire | +49% | 1969 | 24 |
| New Jersey | -20% | 1969 | 29 |
| New Mexico | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| New York | +94% | 1968 | 109 |
| North Carolina | +334% | 1969 | 76 |
| North Dakota | +518% | 1971 | 40 |
| Ohio | -58% | 1968 | 85 |
| Oklahoma | -40% | 1971 | 44 |
| Oregon | -50% | 1971 | 42 |
| Pennsylvania | +111% | 1968 | 99 |
| Rhode Island | insufficient data | n/a | 4 |
| South Carolina | -58% | 1970 | 35 |
| South Dakota | +115% | 1971 | 33 |
| Tennessee | +282% | 1968 | 44 |
| Texas | -28% | 1969 | 68 |
| Utah | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Vermont | +77% | 1969 | 21 |
| Virginia | +199% | 1968 | 60 |
| Washington | +405% | 1973 | 48 |
| West Virginia | -18% | 1969 | 43 |
| Wisconsin | +190% | 1968 | 95 |
| Wyoming | +1% | 1990 | 13 |
Wood Duck Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Northern Pacific Rainforest | +8% | 1970 | 67 |
| Great Basin | +70% | 1986 | 44 |
| Northern Rockies | +144% | 1980 | 35 |
| Prairie Potholes | 13× | 1969 | 96 |
| Boreal Hardwood Transition | +151% | 1968 | 95 |
| Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain | +116% | 1968 | 79 |
| Atlantic Northern Forest | +35% | 1968 | 103 |
| Sierra Nevada | -74% | 1985 | 6 |
| Badlands and Prairies | -22% | 1988 | 39 |
| Shortgrass Prairie | -73% | 1981 | 16 |
| Central Mixed Grass Prairie | +843% | 1970 | 84 |
| Oaks and Prairies | +103% | 1973 | 38 |
| Eastern Tallgrass Prairie | +78% | 1968 | 243 |
| Prairie Hardwood Transition | +146% | 1968 | 156 |
| Central Hardwoods | +168% | 1968 | 129 |
| West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas | +19% | 1969 | 80 |
| Mississippi Alluvial Valley | +134% | 1969 | 65 |
| Southeastern Coastal Plain | +70% | 1968 | 286 |
| Appalachian Mountains | +76% | 1968 | 292 |
| Piedmont | +243% | 1968 | 116 |
| New England / Mid-Atlantic Coast | +266% | 1968 | 135 |
| Peninsular Florida | -87% | 1968 | 50 |
| Coastal California | +132% | 1972 | 35 |
| Gulf Coastal Prairie | +93% | 1976 | 21 |
Wood Duck Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 62% since 1968.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.