WhenToBird

Aix sponsa · Anatidae

When Do Wood Ducks Arrive in Louisiana?

Adult male Wood Duck
Photo: Andrew Lai, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Wood Duck is in Louisiana all year. It turns up on about 13% of checklists at its peak (mid March) and on 5.5% in its quietest week (mid July).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekMar 15-21mid March
Quietest weekJul 15-21mid July

Best: mid March. Here all year. Peak: on about 13% of Louisiana checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 5.7% of 8384 checklistsJan 8-14: 5.3% of 6265 checklistsJan 15-21: 6.3% of 6825 checklistsJan 22-31: 6.6% of 8776 checklistsFeb 1-7: 8.4% of 5956 checklistsFeb 8-14: 7.7% of 6291 checklistsFeb 15-21: 8.6% of 8044 checklistsFeb 22-28: 11% of 5946 checklistsMar 1-7: 11% of 5981 checklistsMar 8-14: 13% of 6307 checklistsMar 15-21: 14% of 6747 checklistsMar 22-31: 13% of 10487 checklistsApr 1-7: 11% of 8037 checklistsApr 8-14: 11% of 9577 checklistsApr 15-21: 9.0% of 11372 checklistsApr 22-30: 8.9% of 14344 checklistsMay 1-7: 10% of 8193 checklistsMay 8-14: 9.3% of 6823 checklistsMay 15-21: 9.2% of 4818 checklistsMay 22-31: 7.7% of 6206 checklistsJun 1-7: 8.0% of 3660 checklistsJun 8-14: 7.0% of 3455 checklistsJun 15-21: 6.5% of 3084 checklistsJun 22-30: 6.7% of 3904 checklistsJul 1-7: 6.1% of 3240 checklistsJul 8-14: 5.1% of 3235 checklistsJul 15-21: 5.9% of 3167 checklistsJul 22-31: 5.5% of 4328 checklistsAug 1-7: 5.2% of 3192 checklistsAug 8-14: 6.6% of 3394 checklistsAug 15-21: 6.6% of 3502 checklistsAug 22-31: 7.4% of 5658 checklistsSep 1-7: 7.3% of 4366 checklistsSep 8-14: 7.5% of 4648 checklistsSep 15-21: 7.0% of 4369 checklistsSep 22-30: 6.6% of 6418 checklistsOct 1-7: 7.1% of 5375 checklistsOct 8-14: 7.3% of 6213 checklistsOct 15-21: 7.3% of 5553 checklistsOct 22-31: 6.2% of 8879 checklistsNov 1-7: 5.7% of 6231 checklistsNov 8-14: 6.7% of 5011 checklistsNov 15-21: 7.3% of 4856 checklistsNov 22-30: 7.1% of 6696 checklistsDec 1-7: 6.7% of 4530 checklistsDec 8-14: 5.9% of 4883 checklistsDec 15-21: 6.2% of 5833 checklistsDec 22-31: 5.7% of 9940 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in Louisiana that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

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Where in Louisiana

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Avoyelles ParishBest late December · 35 checklists that week, 432 in all56%
  2. Madison ParishBest mid March · 29 checklists that week, 491 in all43%
  3. La Salle ParishBest mid February · 16 checklists that week, 847 in all43%
  4. Acadia ParishBest mid March · 95 checklists that week, 4,718 in all40%
  5. Richland ParishBest early June · 16 checklists that week, 835 in all38%
  6. East Carroll ParishBest the second week of April · 11 checklists that week, 317 in all37%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Audubon ParkOrleans Parish, best mid November · 31 checklists that week, 1,757 in all84%
  2. City-Brooks Community ParkEast Baton Rouge Parish, best the second week of March · 20 checklists that week, 1,603 in all81%
  3. Corney LakeClaiborne Parish, best late April · 28 checklists that week, 153 in all74%
  4. Lsu Research Station (University Lake)East Baton Rouge Parish, best late March · 26 checklists that week, 426 in all72%
  5. Audubon Park (Greenville)Orleans Parish, best late December · 30 checklists that week, 425 in all71%
  6. Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife RefugeSt. Tammany Parish, best early May · 38 checklists that week, 1,492 in all63%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In Louisiana, the Wood Duck is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (13% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (110) to judge1 am: too few checklists (95) to judge2 am: too few checklists (78) to judge3 am: too few checklists (145) to judge4 am: too few checklists (266) to judge5 am: too few checklists (2981) to judge6 am: 14% of 21115 checklists7 am: 12% of 38843 checklists8 am: 9.5% of 36306 checklists9 am: 7.9% of 31934 checklists10 am: 5.7% of 27208 checklists11 am: 5.3% of 20733 checklists12 pm: 4.4% of 18505 checklists1 pm: 5.0% of 17383 checklists2 pm: 5.5% of 17422 checklists3 pm: 6.6% of 17005 checklists4 pm: 7.5% of 17170 checklists5 pm: 8.5% of 12536 checklists6 pm: 7.4% of 8080 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (3798) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (676) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (311) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (206) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (93) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January5.7%5.3%6.3%6.6%
February8.4%7.7%8.6%11%
March11%13%14%13%
April11%11%9.0%8.9%
May10%9.3%9.2%7.7%
June8.0%7.0%6.5%6.7%
July6.1%5.1%5.9%5.5%
August5.2%6.6%6.6%7.4%
September7.3%7.5%7.0%6.6%
October7.1%7.3%7.3%6.2%
November5.7%6.7%7.3%7.1%
December6.7%5.9%6.2%5.7%

Neighboring states

  • Mississippi: year-round, peaks late March
  • Alabama: year-round, peaks the second week of March
  • Texas: year-round, peaks mid March
  • Arkansas: winter visitor, peaks mid March

Common questions

When do Wood Ducks arrive in Louisiana?
The Wood Duck is in Louisiana all year. It turns up on about 13% of checklists at its peak (mid March) and on 5.5% in its quietest week (mid July).
When do Wood Ducks leave Louisiana?
The Wood Duck does not leave Louisiana: it is reported all year, from 5.5% of checklists in mid July to 13% in mid March.
When is the best time to see a Wood Duck in Louisiana?
The Wood Duck is reported most often in mid March, on about 13% of Louisiana checklists.
Where in Louisiana are Wood Ducks seen most often?
By county, Avoyelles Parish, Madison Parish, and La Salle Parish have the highest peak reporting rates for the Wood Duck (counties with at least 200 checklists).