I just had a hen wood duck and 6-8 little ones come walking through the yard.

I have a small pond, there's a creek across the road (no more than a 1/4 mile away) and there are some marshy areas in the woods behind my property.

My German Shorhairs are on lockdown right now. Anyone have any idea what they might be doing? Or, why they're moving so far from water? Are woodie chicks dropping our of their nest in the trees about now?

I know they weren't raised on my pond. The dogs keep all ducks and geese away...they never nest here. Although, I guess it may be a bit different with the woodies, since they nest in trees. It's really dry here and my pond is a good 2 feet low. Maybe the small wetlands out back are drying up? And, maybe they just came out of the huge oaks out back.

I don't know. I'll give them plenty of time to get some distance from my place or the dogs will surely find them.

They likely just dropped out of a tree cavity and they are heading for a creek marsh or other wetland area. Just the way they do it...

Very likely just out of the nest. Not uncommon for woodies to nest quite a distance from water where they find the cavities in trees etc. If you have been as dry as we have been many small sloughs and ditches that have been full or overfull the last 3 years are now dry. Important to find a large enough water body so the ducklings can stay further from shore and find food. They grow really fast when they hit the ground.

Bryce

^^^
this

Woodies will nest a long ways from water at times. As Redknot said.....after the ducklings bail out of the tree cavity, they will follow ma duck to the closest water.

While listening for gobblers this spring I saw a hen woodie zoom in and disappear into a hole in a big aspen a short ways from me. I was standing in the driveway of an old friend of mine, hoping to hear one of his gobblers sound off. I was several hundred yards from any "Wood Ducky" looking waterholes.

According to Delta Waterfowl puddle ducks, will travel a mile to water with ducklings in tow. Wood ducks are puddle ducks, so just on the way to water is my guess.