Wood Duck. The habitat of the wood duck was beautifully described by ornithologist Edward Howe Forbush in the 1920s: "Deep flooded swamps where ancient mossy trees overhang the dark still waters, secluded pools amid the scattered pines where water lilies lift their snowy heads and turtles bask in the sun, purling brooks flowing through dense woodlands where light and shade fleck the splashing waters, slow flowing creeks and marshy ponds - these are the haunts of the Wood Duck."