Despite their popularity among duck hunters, mallards share their habitat with a number of other species, including teal, goldeneye, scaup, ringnecks, pintails, gadwalls, ruddy ducks and widgeon. Photo by Robert Sloan.

No one can predict with much certainty where ducks will be at any given time. They hit the Hawkeye State on cue every fall, but exactly when and where depends on the prevailing temperatures, wind and other natural conditions.

Generally speaking, things start hopping at the end of August or the beginning of September, when the blue-winged teal home in on the marshes and lakes, followed by migrating woodies and mallards. Late October usually ushers in pintails, widgeon, ringnecks and a host of other species. November is the month that ruddy ducks and others join ranks with the birds already in the state, and the shooting can be excellent.

Here's a look at some of these "other" ducks, and at the places in which to find them.

WOOD DUCKS
Wood ducks are near the top of most waterfowlers' lists, but they're not always in the areas that most shooters set up in. Natural lakes and ponds are classic duck habitat, but wooded marshes are real magnets for the woodie.

"A few of the WMAs in the Rathbun Unit in southern Iowa are managed for waterfowl," said Jeff Telleen, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' area wildlife biologist. "The Rathbun and Colyn wildlife areas hold shallow marsh areas and open lakes, and as a result, we get the whole array of waterfowl species, including wood ducks."

The timing depends a lot on the weather, and wood ducks make up most of the bag from September through October with good numbers remaining through November.

Woodies fly in small flocks, heads held high and bills pointed down at a slight angle. The telltale swishing of their wings and their white bellies, shorter necks and blocky tails help shooters identify them in flight.

Rathbun Wildlife Management Area includes a huge expanse of open water and plenty of room for both shooters and ducks to spread out in. The woodies appreciate the woodlands on the public area and will look for the quieter stretches of wood-and-water combinations. The WMA covers 15,970 acres in Appanoose, Lucas, Monroe and Wayne counties. Access is about six miles north of Plano on state Route 142 and six miles south of Russell on county Route S56. The lake covers 11,000 of those acres.

The Colyn State Wildlife Area covers 770 acres of marsh and woods just over four miles south of Russell on Route S56. The area isn't as dependable for hunting as is Rathbun. For additional information, contact the IDNR's Rathbun Unit at (641) 774-4918.