Whether ducks stay out all night or come home by curfew varies by species and location. Movements of ducks are typically greatest during crepuscular periods: the half hour before first light and the half hour after dusk. In fact, the ducks that you watch flying over while picking up your decoys after an evening hunt are likely just starting their day. From radio, cellular, and satellite tracking devices to radar platforms, a wide range of technology has revealed the fascinating things that ducks do while most of us are sleeping.Īs many hunters have long suspected, ducks are surprisingly active at night. Advances in tracking technology and night vision optics have revolutionized our ability to study duck behavior after dark. What waterfowl actually do at night and where they go remained largely a mystery until fairly recently. Others adhere to the belief that ducks make two foraging flights each dayone in the morning and one in the eveningand that the birds can be outsmarted if hunters are patient enough to wait them out. Some people believe that ducks feed all night, especially on carbohydrate-rich hot foods, and sleep all day in sanctuaries. The nighttime behavior of waterfowl has been a favorite topic of discussion among waterfowlers for more than 100 years. If you have spent any time with friends in a duck blind, the question have the ducks gone nocturnal? has surely been batted around on more than a few occasions. By Heath Hagy, PhD, Bradley Cohen, PhD, and Douglas Osborne, PhD
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