I live in a wood duck producing area. Hundreds of wood duck houses, and a very active banding program.
I start shooing away wood ducks Sept 1, when I'm teal shooting.
I see them every day, from duckling to young adult.
In the marsh they are most active at first light, and last.
They are absolute suckers for a mojo. Any kind of motion really.
You don't even need decoys.
Woodland hunting wood ducks here would be a less productive venture.
That said, if I lived near a migratory destination, like a southern oxbow lake, I would put a full body mallard on a log, and a mojo next to that in the water. Just a spot for them to sit.
Pass shooting them up on a hill above the pond would be less productive for me. Finding the flight line would waste too much time. I know where they are going.
I would however, just for sport like to find a flight line in the trees that they are traveling, and would shoot that occasionally. But my bread and butter would be am and pm sitting on a bucket 20 yards from that log in the water.
My Tennessee friends see huge flocks along the impoundments. Having a cloud of drake wood ducks dropping into a hole would be pretty special. We just band them up here. I never really looked to see where all they end up at after they leave.
FWIW, sometimes a person charged with a wildlife crime negotiates to provide wood duck boxes in lieu of a trial. There are hundreds of them around here. Every pond and puddle. In the winter conservation groups clean them out, and fix them up. 100 yards apart, mile after mile.
