Waterfowl

Clangula hyemalis

Long-tailed Duck:

IUCN: Vulnerable - decreasing population
Winter Habitat: Out at sea in the open water

Food: Marine foods, like crustaceans.

Foraging Technique: Can dive to depths of 50 feet regularly, but on some rare occasions they have been caught by fisherman of depths of approximately 200 feet!

Breeding Habitat: Found mainly in arctic wetlands

Nesting Preference: Nest near the water on the ground using birch and willow leaves to line the nests.

Average Clutch Size: 6-7 eggs

First age of Breeding: Pair formation begins at about two years, and this species spends much of its time performing social acts well before breeding seasons begins

Literature cited:

Melanitta fusca

Velvet Scoter

IUCN Listing: Endanged - decreasing population
Winter Habitat: Areas with lakes and rivers more than 20 feet deep with rich invertebrate life

Food: Molluscs, crustaceans, aquatic insects, occasionally fish

Foraging Technique: Diving

Breeding Habitat: Coastal areas near lakes and forests

Nesting Preference: On the ground, far away from water with high cover

Average Clutch Size: 9-10 eggs

First age of Breeding: Pair formation begins at about two years, however, females are known to begin nesting far after that and there is no knowledge of a White-winged Scoter nesting before two years.

Literature cited:

Ducks Geese and Swans of the World

Histriconicus histrionicus

Harlequin Duck:

IUCN Listing: Least Concern - increasing population

Winter Habitat: Rocky areas

Food: Enjoys cold and fast water ways which are usually rich in the insects these birds seek. Will eat marine fish and mollusks (very skilled at getting mollusks out of their shell) Since food is hard to come by, they do not usually gather in large groups because the competition would be overwhelming.

Foraging Technique: Diving

Breeding Habitat: Fast flowing rivers and streams away from the salty oceans they spend most of their time in

Nesting Preference: Nest close to a stream in high cover on the ground

Average Clutch Size: 6 eggs

First age of Breeding: Second or third winter

Literature cited:

Ducks, Geese and Swans of the World

Somateria mollissima

Common Eider:

IUCN Listing: Least concern - unkown population trend
Winter Habitat: They move away from the coast and rest in marine shoals

Food: Mollusks

Foraging Technique: They are fierce divers, diving to depths of over 16 meters (refer to the video on foraging: element two to see a video of eiders diving)

Breeding Habitat: Rocky coastlines, being used as an ecosystem service. People will attempt to take care of the eiders as best as possible while retrieving the soft downy feathers the eider places in its nests to incubate their eggs

Nesting Preference: Near the water on the ground, lined with vegetation

Average Clutch Size: 1-14 eggs

First age of Breeding: Second winter

Literature cited:

Aythya fuligula

Tufted Duck:

The tufted duck is much like the greater scaup (which we can see in Arcata) in it’s breeding needs. They enjoy having larger and deeper bodies of water which possess invertebrate rich bottoms in which the Tufted duck can dive down into. However, during the winter, they tend to remain in coastal and inland ponds that are no greater than 6meters in depth. With an average clutch size of ten eggs, the first age of breeding is as a yearling.

IUCN Listing: Least concern - stable population
Winter Habitat: Coastal and inland ponds that are no greater than 6 meters in depth

Food: Aquatic plants including roots, buds and seeds. Mainly eat invertebrates including clams, snails and other aquatic invertebrates

Foraging Technique: Diving

Breeding Habitat: Very alike our locally seen Greater Scaup (can be seen at the Arcata Marsh). Larger and deeper bodies of water which possess invertebrate rich bottoms in which the Tufted Duck dives down into

Nesting Preference: Close to water on islands within lakes with vegetation cover.

Average Clutch Size: Ten eggs

First age of Breeding: Yearling

Literature cited:

Anas hottentota

Hottentot Teal:

IUCN Listing: Least concern - decreasing population
Winter Habitat: Shallow water marshes

Food: Insects, seeds and grasses

Foraging Technique: During the twilight hours, you can see this duck dabbling away on insects, seeds and grasses

Breeding Habitat: Shallow water marshes, staying near reads and cattails

Nesting Preference: Above water levels in trees that have "drowned"

Average Clutch Size: 6-8 eggs

First age of Breeding:

Literature cited:

Anas clypeata

Northern Shoveler:

IUCN Listing: Least concern - decreasing population
Winter Habitat: Wetlands with muddy edges

Food: Small invertebrates and seeds

Foraging Technique: Dabbling, their bill is extremely unique compared to most dabbling ducks and they have a higher capacity to strain their food.

Breeding Habitat: Shallow marshes with easily accessible mud bottoms that allow with a rich invertebrate bottom. Extremely territorial compared to most species.

Nesting Preference: Surrounded by vegetation and in close proximity to the ocean

Average Clutch Size: Ten eggs

First age of Breeding: Yearlings

Literature cited:

Anas acuta

Northern Pintail:

IUCN Listing: Least concern - decreasing population
Winter Habitat: Shallow freshwater marshes and intertidal wetlands, spending much of its time dabbling in these wetlands

Food: Crustaceans, insects, snails, grains and seeds

Foraging Technique: Dabbling

Breeding Habitat: Near shallow ponds and marshes

Nesting Preference: A good distance away from water on the ground covered with grass

Average Clutch Size: 9 eggs

First age of Breeding: Yearlings

Oddly enough (refer to my NAWMP section on the population numbers) the pintail numbers have been declining recently without much explanation.

Literature cited:

Anas discors

Blue-winged Teal

IUCN Listing: Least concerned - decreasing population

Winter Habitat: Tropical wetlands, mangrove swamps, brackish ponds, lagoons as well as other types of wetlands. Far more diverse than the breeding habitat

Food: Seeds and aquatic vegetation in the winter and a mainly invertebrate based diet during the breeding season, consisting of clams, crustaceans and snails

Foraging Technique: Dabbling

Breeding Habitat: Drier grassland areas as long as there is a wetland present

Nesting Preference: Covered with grass and approximately a foot above water level

Average Clutch Size: 10-11 eggs

First age of Breeding: Most females attempt to nest at one year.

Literature cited:

Bird Web
All About Birds

Planet of Birds

Nettapus auritus

African Pygmy Goose

IUCN Listing: Least concern- decreasing population

Winter Habitat: They do not have much of a migration pattern, sometimes they will follow the patterns of the rainfall, but for the most part they remain near slow flowing rivers, shallow bays in lakes, marshes and swamps where aquatic plants are plentiful.

Food: Its distribution is attributed to the distribution of water lilies; although they will consume other aquatic plants, a large majority of their diet is primarily water lilies.

Foraging Technique: Dabbling, but these geese are able to dive to avoid predators of to forage quite well.

Breeding Habitat: Refer to wintering habitat as well as food.

Nesting Preference: Cliff holes or cavities in trees

Average Clutch Size: 6-12 eggs

First age of Breeding: 2 years

Literature cited:

Planet of Birds

Tadorna ferruginea

Ruddy Shelduck:

IUCN Listing: Least concern - unknown population trend
Winter Habitat: This bird persist in Russia with a variety of habitats but mainly it consists of brackish or salty wetland habitats; however, the preferred habitat is open country, in lower elevations than in the breeding season

Food: Mainly vegetarian diet consisting of grains

Foraging Technique: Forage nocturnally by grazing

Breeding Habitat: Head high on the mountains of over 4000 meters

Nesting Preference: Holes in sandy banks or in clay

Average Clutch Size: 8-12 eggs

First age of Breeding: 2 years

Literature cited:

Planet of Birds

Nomonyx dominica

Masked Duck

IUCN Listing: Least concern - decreasing population

Winter Habitat: Wetlands which possess thick vegetation and rice fields

Food: Plant seeds and leaves

Foraging Technique: Diving in shallow waters

Breeding Habitat: Breed in accordance to the water in the rice fields rising.

Nesting Preference: Creates a deep cup in vegetation with a lot of cover and near the water

Average Clutch Size: 4-8 eggs. Estimating the clutch size is difficult, however, because Ruddy Ducks tend to dump their eggs into the Masked Ducks nest, so this is only a rough estimate.

First age of Breeding:

Literature cited:

Planet of Birds
Cornell Neotropical Birds

Blue Duck

IUCN Listing - Endangered - decreasing population

Once they expanded in New Zealand, however, now they are confined to only some mountains in New Zealand with streams that provide a plethora variety of invertebrates for the surviving Blue Duck populations. They are capable of diving for their invertebrate prey and will sometimes use the boulders in the streams as levers to dive deeper. Usually the duck stays on the breeding grounds unless there is no longer a sufficient amount of food left, remaining near to rivers

Winter Habitat: Rivers in the mountains of New Zealand

Food: Aquatic invertebrates

Foraging Technique: They are capable of diving for their invertebrate prey and will sometimes use the boulders in the streams as levers to dive deeper.

Breeding Habitat: Once they expanded in New Zealand, however, now they are confined to only some mountains in New Zealand with streams that provide a plethora variety of invertebrates for the surviving Blue Duck populations. Usually the duck stays on the breeding grounds unless there is no longer a sufficient amount of food left, remaining near to rivers

Nesting Preference: Hallow logs and small caves

Average Clutch Size: 5 eges

First age of Breeding: 5 months old, they are already performing pair formations

Literature cited:

Wikipedia

Cygnus buccinator

Trumpeter Swan:

IUCN Listing: Least concern - increasing population

Winter Habitat: Near lakes, streams and rivers further south than their breeding range.

Food: Leaves and stems of aquatic plants and some aquatic invertebrates

Foraging Technique: Dabbling

Breeding Habitat: Near freshwater ponds, marshes and lakes

Nesting Preference: Will use old mammal mounds in order to place their nests in deep open cups. Uses vegetation to surround it and will nest in close elevation with water.

Average Clutch Size: 1-9 eggs

First age of Breeding: 2 years and create a pair for life. However, they do not mate until 3 year old

Literature cited:

All About Birds

Planet of Birds

Branta sandvicensis

Nene:

IUCN Listing: Vulnerable - increasing population
A highly endangered waterfowl based on the Hawaiian Islands. Their naïve attitude plays a role in their demise.

Winter Habitat: Grasslands

Food: Herbs, berries, grass

Foraging Technique: Grazing

Breeding Habitat: During the breeding season, they tend to be among the lowlands as well as in mountains as tall as 9000 feet many places where lava still flows.

Nesting Preference: Ground nesting with down

Average Clutch Size: 2-3 eggs

First age of Breeding: 2 years but some females have been known to breed as yearlings

Literature cited:

Planet of Birds