KENT COUNTY, Mich. — When the wood duck was declared Michigan's state duck last month, its welcoming party — a growing community of both beginner and veteran birders — was perhaps as popular as it's ever been.
WATCH: Wood Duck's promotion to State Duck gets approval from local wildlife photographer
According to a recent report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an estimated 96 million birders in the United States annually spend more than $100 billion on the hobby, purchasing equipment such as binoculars, cameras and field guides while also paying for travel and recreation opportunities across the country.
Locally, the Grand Rapids Audubon Club has tripled in size since over the past six years.
"When a lot of us were locked down, we couldn't do a lot of the things we normally did, but we got a chance to go out," said Cliff Hodge, a board member for the club who picked up birding during the pandemic. "I lived near a state park and discovered birds in my backyard. That was something I could do every day."
While the club's meetings, field trips and special events are free to attend, membership is available to those who wish to support its mission to improve the natural environment and advance nature education in West Michigan.
"[Young people] brought a lot of new energy, and they have a lot of fantastic ideas," said Katie Bolt, a longtime birder and board member for the club. "It's been really exciting to see the increase in interest and diversity."
On the wood duck, Hodge and Bolt both say its designation as a new state symbol amid a rise in the popularity of birding is "good timing."
"When they talk about wood duck, state birds, Michigan's going to always come up," Hodge said.
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Captured on camera
An award-winning wildlife photographer who does much of his work on Reeds Lake in East Grand Rapids, Steve Jessmore says he couldn't think of a more deserving bird to be named Michigan's state duck.
"A lot other ducks have their reasons they stand out, but a wood duck is truly intricate and just so gorgeous and beautiful," Jessmore said.
In order to capture the skittish species on camera, Jessmore says he arrives at the lake in the early hours of the morning and crouches among the reeds as he waits for a pair to fly or land within range of his telephoto lens.
"They're definitely a show piece of nature," Jessmore said. "They're going to take a little more noticing, but as you do that, you're going to fall in love with nature, quite honestly."
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A conservation success story
A species that nearly disappeared from North America more than a century ago, the wood duck is also one of the United States' earliest conservation success stories.
According to Kali Rush, a waterfowl specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, wood ducks were greatly threatened by restriction-free hunting habitat loss. In the late 1800s, the species' preferred forested wetlands were ransacked by loggers in the Great Lakes area, working to rebuild the city of Chicago after the Great Chicago Fire.
In the following century, though, federal protections such as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and the building of wood duck nesting boxes by schools and conservationists brought the wood duck back from the brink.
Today, around 100,000 wood ducks are estimated to be living in Michigan.
"I am very happy it's named the state symbol," said Rush, who also testified on behalf of the wood duck last year in front of the Michigan State Legislature. Rush's employer at the time, Ducks Unlimited, helped introduce the bill that earned the wood duck its new designation.
"They're everywhere in Michigan, but most people haven't seen them," Rush said about the species. "But maybe this is a way to get folks to go out into nature and maybe look for other types of ducks."
Five fun facts about the wood duck from Kali Rush:
- Wood ducks are one of only three cavity-nesting ducks in North America, setting them apart from other waterfowl and explaining their name.
- Wood ducks can have multiple broods per year. Unlike most waterfowl, wood ducks can successfully raise more than one brood annually, with some attempting up to three nests in a single year.
- They have a uniquely wide breeding range. Wood ducks breed across the entire Mississippi flyway from Michigan down to Mississippi, which is rare for a waterfowl species.
- They've been culturally significant for centuries. Native American artifacts decorated with wood duck designs have been found throughout their range, and French explorers in the 17th century brought wood duck specimens back to the king to showcase their beauty.
- They're Michigan's second-most harvested duck. Today, wood ducks have recovered so well that they're the second most hunted duck species in Michigan.
