Birds at My Feeder - Regency Educational Clubregencyeducationalclub.com/doc/BS_-_Winter_Waterfowl.pdf · 2015. 10. 29. · White-fronted Goose) is another tundra breeder that migrates

Winter WaterfowlRegency’s

Wintering Ducks and Geese

Honing Identification Skills – Sitting Ducks

When I was a beginning birder I took an important step when some birding buddies introduced me to the art of waterfowl identification.

There are several points that recommend wintering ducks as subjects for study:

• One can find them all in one place, floating on a lake or pond.

• They are sitting relatively still, so speed in focusing your optics is not necessary.

• They molt into their colorful breeding plumage at the end of the summer, so their field marks are clearly seen throughout the winter.

On the following pages, I will review the waterfowl most commonly seen at Regency.

Canada GooseGeese are easy to identify. We’ve all seen them. The long neck, bulky body and webbed feet are the marks we all know well.

Canada Geese are with us all year long, as our golfers can attest. The geese we see in summer are part of a local breeding population. In winter thousands of Canada geese that breed in the Arctic fly south to join them.

One rewarding winter birding activity is finding and studying the large goose flocks that gather in local farm fields. Among the many Canadas one may occasionally find a rare goose.

The small goose in the picture is a separate species: Cackling Goose, which is rare but regular in Virginia.

This bar graph is a summary of my records in eBird for Regency (2008-2015)

Wood DuckThe Wood Duck is one of the most photogenic of the waterfowl. Drakes are beautifully marked; hens are more subtly patterned.

Wood Ducks are shy, preferring secluded swamps rather than open water.

At Regency I see them most often in the small wooded pond near the intersection of Alderbrook and Legacy.

As most Wood Ducks winter south of Virginia, we see many in early spring and early fall.


MallardThe Mallard is the most common duck on most bodies of fresh water. At Regency, they can be found on several of our ponds at all seasons.

Drakes have green heads and yellow bills; hens have brown head and orange bills.

Learn to recognize this duck easily, as it will often be one of the ducks you see in mixed flocks.


RedheadThe Redhead is a diving duck – one that feeds by totally submerging. They generally winter in small groups on freshwater ponds and in larger groups on the Potomac. In recent years a flock of 30 or more has spent the winters at the Silver Lake quarry pond.

In February of 2014 two Redhead males showed up on the Regency clubhouse entrance pond (my photo).


Ring-necked DuckThe Ring-necked Duck is another diving duck. They generally winter in fairly large groups on freshwater ponds and on the Potomac. It is one of the most common ducks on ponds in northern Prince William county.

In February of 2014 a male Ring-necked Duck joined the two Redhead males on the Regency clubhouse entrance pond (my photo).

Note that the “ring” on this duck’s neck is invisible in the field – another example of an unfortunate choice of common name. Far better as field marks are the bright white spike just behind the breast at the waterline. Also, if seen well, the male’s bill has a black tip with a white band immediately behind it.


BuffleheadThe Bufflehead is a small diving duck. They winter in pairs and small groups on freshwater ponds all over Virginia

In February of 2014 a pair of Buffleheads joined the two Redhead males on the Regency clubhouse entrance pond.


Hooded MerganserThe Hooded Merganser is a small diving duck with a narrow, serrated bill that they use to catch small fish and invertebrates. They winter in pairs and small groups on freshwater ponds all over Virginia

They have appeared on our golf course ponds and often in the small pond near Alderbrook and Legacy. The female lacks the brilliant white hood patch but has a russet-colored crest.


Going Farther Afield

In winter there are many species of water fowl on our lakes and rivers in Northern Virginia. In less than an hour one can find many of these, some quite close to Regency. Silver Lake County Park is less than two miles drive from us. Other productive bodies of water in the area include: Lake Brittle, Lake Manassas, the pond at the Upper Occoquan Service Authority in Centreville, Burke Lake County Park (Fairfax), and many points along the Potomac shoreline.

When visiting these locations the beginning birder can often join up with birding field trips organized by one of our local bird clubs. One advantage of doing this is that there will be experienced birders in the group who can help with identifications; another advantage is that one or more of the participants will have high powered spotting scopes mounted on tripods through which distant ducks may be studied.

Again, the fact that these waterfowl can be studied at your leisure is a great help in building your birding skills.

Once you have decided to pursue birding more seriously, you may want to consider purchasing a spotting scope and tripod.

On the following pages I will discuss some of our other common wintering waterfowl.

Tundra SwanThe Tundra Swan is a wholly migratory species. They actually nest on the tundra then fly south to winter along the East Coast. Chesapeake Bay and Pamlico Sound are two major wintering areas. Substantial numbers of Tundra Swans winter along the unfrozen Potomac. Mason Neck State Park and the marsh at the adjacent Hartwell National Wildlife Refuge are especially good locations to find them.

Tundra Swans migrate during daylight and at night. In the early spring and again in late fall one can hear flocks of Tundra Swans flying high overhead.

This chart is a composite of all historical sightings in eBird for Prince William County.

Snow GooseThe Snow Goose (pictured here with an even less common goose for our area – the Greater White-fronted Goose) is another tundra breeder that migrates to the East Coast in winter. Most Snow Geese winter south and east of us, sticking to the coastal bays and inlets. But a few stragglers show up among our large winter Canada Goose flocks. The farm fields around The Plains and Marshall are good places to look.

Beware the domestic “barnyard” goose which are often pure white and do associate with wintering Canadas.


GadwallThis very common wintering duck has a very muted plumage color scheme. They are most easily identified (male and female) on the wing, when they display a bright white speculum. You can often see a bit of the white speculum showing on the folded wing. Note that drakes have a black bill and hens an orange one.

Gadwall can be found on open fresh water anywhere. They are dabbling ducks, like the Mallard, meaning that they tip up when feeding but never dive, thus they tend to stay in relatively shallow water.


American WigeonThe American Wigeon is another common dabbling duck found mostly on fresh water. Note the bright green on the male’s head behind the eye and the grey cheek. The beige forecrown inspired its early name – Baldpate. The male and female both have pale bills.

Both sexes make a high-pitched squeal that can distinguish them even when in large mixed flocks of ducks as they often are.


American Black DuckThe American Black Duck is very similar to the more common Mallard. Note that both sexes have yellow bills which separate them immediately from female Mallards which have orange bills. The Black Duck’s body feathers are much darker, contrasting with the paler cheek feathers.

Black Ducks breed in Virginia and are here all winter as well.


Blue-winged TealThe Blue-winged Teal are small dabbling ducks. The male is well-marked with a bright white crescent on his face, but females are a real identification challenge for the birder; often the best clues are size and proximity to easily identified males. These teal are easier to identify in flight because of their bright blue speculum.

Blue-winged Teal winter south of Virginia, so we typically only see them during their migration. One of the memorable observations from my last trip to Costa Rica in March 2015 was seeing thousands of Blue-winged Teal in mixed flocks with many thousands of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks in the Palo Verde NP marshes.


Northern ShovelerThe Northern Shoveler breeds on the northern prairies in the US and into Canada, then spends the winter in the South and along the East Coast as far north as southern New England.

While the drakes have a green head, their body pattern – white breast and chestnut flanks – is not at all like the male Mallard. Also note the large, broad bill which is unlike that of any other local ducks.

Shovelers can show up on any fresh water pond in our area. Good places to see them include Burke Lake and Huntley Meadows.


Northern PintailThe Northern Pintail also breeds in the northern US and into Canada, then spends the winter in the South and along the East Coast as far north as southern New England.

The drakes’ striking pattern on the head and neck makes them easy to pick out in a crowded pond, even at some distance. Also note the long, pointed tail for which they are named.


Green-winged TealThe bright green speculum (wing patch) seen in this photograph is not always so easily visible on most Green-winged Teal you may encounter. Rely instead on identifying the drakes by their chestnut head with a bold green stripe behind the eye, and the vertical white bar on the flank just behind the chest,

Green-winged Teal tend to spend most of their time in very shallow water, close to shore and away from open water at the center of a big pond.

A good place to look for them is in the series of small ponds along the road to Veterans Memorial Park in Woodbridge.


CanvasbackThe Canvasback is a diving duck, like the Redhead and Ring-necked Duck, but is much less common at this end of Prince William County. They have occasionally shown up at Silver Lake, but are much easier to find along the Potomac, e.g. at Leesylvannia or Mason Neck State Parks.

The drake Canvasback has a similar color scheme to the Redhead, but note the very white mantle (back) and the long, sloping bill.


Lesser ScaupThe Lesser Scaup is the commonest diving duck wintering in Prince William County. They have occasionally shown up at Silver Lake, but are much easier to find along the Potomac, e.g. at Leesylvannia or Mason Neck State Parks. The winter flocks on Belmont Bay number in the thousands, or maybe tens of thousands. A few individuals linger here through the summer, although I do not know of any breeding records.

The Lesser Scaup presents identification challenges to even experienced birders because of its extreme similarity to the Greater Scaup, which, while less numerous, also winters here. The principle differences in the field are color (purple vs green) and shape (pointed vs rounded) of the head, and the length of the white wing-stripe in flight.

The old name for Scaup is Bluebill.


Common MerganserThe Common Merganser is a diving duck with a narrow, serrated bill that they use to catch small fish and invertebrates. It is larger than its cousin, the Hooded Merganser. Their bright white body-feathers make them easy to pick out even at a distance. They tend to leave their breeding grounds - northern rivers and streams – later than other ducks, so they do not appear in numbers in Virginia until mid-winter.

On March 15, 2014 I was fortunate to find a flock of over 2000 on Lake Manassas.


Red-breasted MerganserThe Red-breasted Merganser is a diving duck closely related to the Common Merganser. They tend to favor more brackish water than the Common Merganser and thus are rarely seen away from the Potomac. They are much more common on the Chesapeake and in ocean-fronting bays.

They can be distinguished from the Common Merganser even at a distance by their darker flanks and breast, and up close by their looser crest feathers.


Ruddy DuckThe Ruddy Duck is a small diving duck not closely related to the preceding species. The drake has a bright ruddy plumage, with a distinctive white cheek patch. The bill turns bright blue in the spring. Notice how the drake holds his tail; this is a characteristic of the genus Oxyura, the Stiff-tailed Ducks.

I have not found this duck in Regency’s ponds yet, but I think they are likely to turn up one of these winters.

Two summers ago, a single drake Ruddy Duck spent the summer on Silver Lake.


Some Other Waterfowl …

Besides swans, geese and ducks many other species of waterfowl spend the winter in Virginia.

I include three species that are fairly common at that season. Be aware that there are other bird species that you can see around water like herons and gulls that I will cover in a separate module.

Pied-billed GrebeThe Pied-billed Grebe is not closely related to the swans, geese and ducks, but it is a fairly common wintering aquatic bird.

While not easily confused with the ducks these small birds dive for aquatic vegetation in the same ponds frequented by the dabbling ducks.

The grebe’s foot is not webbed like a duck’s but is each toe is expanded into a wide lobe so they seem to swim just as well.


American CootThe American Coot is related to the gallinules and rails, unlike these species it is comfortable foraging in open water.

Coots form flocks in winter in Virginia, often mixing with dabbling ducks like gadwall and wigeon.

Large flocks are easily seen on Belmont Bay and Pohick Bay during the winter months.


Double-crested CormorantThe Double-crested Cormorant is related to the pelican and the gannet (Sulidae).

Cormorants are present in Virginia all-year long, although the main breeding populations are in the prairie states, around the Great Lakes and in the Maritime Provinces in Canada. In fall, these birds move east and south to the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, so their numbers swell in October and November then drop, leaving smaller numbers hanging out around the Potomac River. In spring, birds that wintered in the Carolinas and Florida head north, again passing through Virginia in large numbers.


Documents

Birds at My Feeder - Regency Educational Clubregencyeducationalclub.com/doc/BS_-_Winter_Waterfowl.pdf · 2015. 10. 29. · White-fronted Goose) is another tundra breeder that migrates