No matter when duck season opens where you are-chances are wood ducks will be there-and probably lots of them.

Wood ducks nest throughout many parts of the country, and for some backwaters off the main migratory flyways, they may be the only web-footed game to be found. Since they are likely residents of your area, you can usually count on wood ducks to show up for opening day. They are beautifully plumed birds that taste as good as they look, and while they are elusive, they are not particularly wary. Hunting them successfully is less about gear, calling, and decoy spreads and more about scouting hard and shooting straight.

For the most part, one typically shoots at far more wood ducks than are hit-and still a lot are hit. Woodies rank as the second most important duck in the bag after mallards in the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways. Knowing where and how to set up for them will improve your chances. Here's a brief overview on wood duck hunting.

Wood ducks were nearly extinct at the turn of the 20th century due to overhunting and clearing of old-growth forest habitat where they nested and fed on acorns. They rebounded nicely thanks to better regulation, forest maturation, and thousands of volunteer-built nesting boxes.

Today woodies nest from the Canadian prairies to the Gulf of Mexico and are found in the Central and Pacific Flyways as well.

Typically, wood ducks congregate in a marsh or pond at night, roosting near deeper water where they feel safe. Early risers even by waterfowl standards, they leave the roost before dawn and fly out to feed in shallow ponds, sloughs, and streams, where they eat duckweed, acorns, berries, seeds, and aquatic insects. Woodies also feed on waste grain in dry cornfields. They generally return to the roost after shooting hours end at sunset.

As you sit in your blind on opener, bubbling with anticipation and excitement you'll hear the first duck before you see it--a shrill whistle, rustling wings, and a plunk like a rock dropped in water. That's the cue for the moment when, as a friend puts it, "God empties a barrel of ducks out of the sky." Wood ducks come in from all points of the compass in singles, pairs, and flocks. No matter how long you have been waiting for them, the last-minute frenzy of shooting just before dark is more than worth it. Good hunting!