926 Minnesota Ducks Dabble or Dive for Dinner - webapps8

f all the species of ducks in
Minnesota held a family
reunion, it would be a
crowded place. Ducks make
up the largest group of
waterfowl, with 22 species
nesting in Minnesota or
visiting in various seasons.
The way ducks feed divides
them into two groups:
dabblers and divers.
MALLARD TIP-UP BY RICHARD HAMILTON SMITH
By JAN WELSH

OR DIVE
FOR DINNER
DIVING CANVASBACKS BY JIM BRANDENBURG, MINDEN PICTURES

^ Mallard: The most
common ducks in
Minnesota, mallards
are known for their
explosive takeoff from
the water.
BILL MARCHEL
Black duck: Thesessooty
brown ducks eat
a wide variety of things,
including aquatic
insects and vegetation,
even wild nuts. They
sometimes interbreed
with mallards.
RICHARO HAMILTON SMITH
KEVIN T. KARLSON
Wood duck: These
beautiful ducks are
truly forest dwellers,
nesting in tree cavities
or artificial nest boxes.
MARCELLA JENSEN
^Gadwall: These
ducks have a high
success rate in nesting.
They start to nest late
in the spring and
choose tall, thick brush
or islands to elude
predators.
KEVIN T. KARLSON
American ^
wigeon: Sometimes
these birds are called
baldpate for the white
on top of the drake's
head. They nest in
northwestern
Minnesota.
42
THE MINNESOTA VOLUNTEER

JIM BRANDENBURG, MINDEN PICTURES
Green-winged ^
teal: The smallest of
Minnesota's ducks, they
travel in large flocks,
often numbering in the
hundreds.
^ Northern pintail:
These long-necked
ducks have extra-long
tails in the spring. One
of the first duck
species to migrate in
the fall, pintails return
early in spring.
KEVIN T. KARLSON
Dabblers are built
with their legs
close to the middle
of their bodies. This
helps them to walk
well on land and to
tip up like bobbers
to feed on underwater
plants.
Carries its tail high
BILL MARCHEL
Blue-winged
teal: These birds are
long-distance travelers
—one banded in
Saskatchewan was shot
six months later in
Peru, more than 4,000
miles away.
BILL MARCHEL
Northern ^
shoveler: These
ducks have large
comblike "teeth" and
sensitive nerves on
their tongues and the
roofs of their mouths.
Holds its neck high
M ARCH-APRIL 1998 45

l/l
01
Ul
E
^^
SHRBir >
KEVIN T. KARLSON
Ring-necked ^
>» duck: These
Jj
powerful swimmers
can forage to depths of
— 40 feet. Hunters call
" them ringbills because
C7
they have two white
^
rings on their bills.
KEVIN T KARLSON
•^Redhead: In winter,
groups of several
thousand redheads
gather on ice-free lakes
and coastal bays. The
males are quite vocal,
with a call resembling a
cat's meow.
B
BILL MARCHEL
B
I j Q
Oldsquaw: Winter
visitors to Minnesota,
these are the only
diving ducks that are
B dark in front and white
in the rear at the
waterline.
KEVIN T. KARLSON ^ ^
Lesser
scaup: ^
Lesser scaup form
huge groups, or rafts,
up to a mile wide on
big lakes during
migration. Heads
usually have a purple
gloss.
^ Canvasback: These
large ducks, called cans,
have been clocked
flying up to 70 mph.
They nest in prairie
potholes, often building
their nests on floating
mats of vegetation.
KEVIN T. KARLSON
1 ^Kt -it.
44 THE MINNESOTA VOLUNTEER

KEVIN T. KARLSON
Common golden- ^
eye: These ducks are
also called whistlers.
During courtship, the
drake swims around a
hen, then thrusts his
head back almost to
his tail and kicks up a
spray of water.
BILL MARCHEL
^Greater scaup:
These ducks nest in
Canada and migrate
through Minnesota.
They usually have a
green gloss on their
heads.
BILL MARCHEL
Diving ducks are
like submarines,
built for swimming
underwater for long
distances in search of
aquatic invertebrates
and plants. Divers'
wings are short to
create less drag
while swimming
underwater.
•^Bufflehead: These
small ducks are pretty
picky when choosing a
place to nest They
prefer nest cavities
made by flickers.
Runs along water some
distance before lifting off
BILL MARCHEL
Ruddy duck:^-
Ruddy ducks cannot
walk well because their
legs are so close to
their tails. These little
ducks lay the largest
eggs relative to body
size. Unlike other duck
species, the males help
raise the young.
Holds its neck straight out
Other ducks seen in
Minnesota, though less
often than those shown
here, include the
harlequin, Barrow's
goldeneye, white-winged
scoter, and surf scoter.
M ARCH-APRIL 1998 47

CHILLY AND QUACKERS
As ice begins to cover up duckweed, water bugs, and other foods
on lakes, ponds, and rivers, ducks migrate to open water.
Some species, such as mallards and wood ducks, travel to the
southern United States. Blue-winged teal go as far south as Cuba
and parts of northern South America. Hardy diving ducks, such
as common goldeneyes and oldsquaws, cruise the open water of
the Great Lakes and coasts during the winter. Most canvasbacks
that fly through Minnesota from Canada go on to Chesapeake
Bay, the eastern Great Lakes, or the Gulf of Mexico.
46 THE MINNESOTA VOLUNTEER

FILLING THE BILL
Dabbling ducks strain food from a lake by
drawing water from the surface and squirting
it out. Comblike structures on the edge of the
bill, called lamellae, trap small water
animals and plants. This is
C\
s
X
v
called filter feeding.
< Diving ducks
usetheir
lamellae to
Filter-feeding lamellae
catch and
hold freshwater shrimp and other
invertebrates. Mergansers belong to a
special group called fish ducks.
They have lamellae
that are
How a duck swims
-iv****""
Fish-catching lamellae
toothlike and enable them to catch and hold
slippery fish.
ILLUSTRATIONS 8Y VERA MING WONG
NEAT FEET
Webbed feet help ducks to swim. They even help
them brake for a landing. Even the coldest water
doesn't bother ducks. They have a network of
blood vessels in their legs that removes the heat
from the blood just before it travels down to the
feet and wanns it up to go back to the heart.
While we'd grab our wool socks, ducks don't
seem to mind that their feet are only a few
degrees wanner than the chilly water.
MARCH-APRIL 1998

PINTAIL PREENING BY GARY MESZAROS. DEMBINSKY PHOTO ASSOCIATES
ALL-WEATHER PROTECTION
A duck waterproofs its feathers with oil from a gland on its back.
It carefully preens its feathers so that they lie in their proper places
and stay free of dirt and parasites. A thick layer of down feathers
next to the duck's skin works like a jacket, keeping warm air in
and cold air out.
DUCK PONDS
Shallow ponds are especially important in early spring because
they melt before deeper water does. They contain a tremendous
amount of high-protein invertebrates for ducklings to eat so they
grow big in time to fly south. Deeper wetlands are also important,
because they provide feeding and nesting areas even in dry years.
RAISING A FAMILY
Many ducks select a mate during the winter months and travel
together to wetland nesting grounds in the early spring.
The hen usually chooses a spot to nest. Hens of some species,
such as mallards and wood ducks, often return to the place where
48 THE MINNESOTA VOLUNTEER

they were hatched and
raised. This is called homing.
In the case of mallards,
the hen lays one egg each
day until she has laid her
entire clutch of eight to 14
eggs. The male leaves her as
she begins incubation. She
will leave the nest only for a
short time each day to feed
and drink. After 28 days of
incubation, the eggs hatch.
Then the hen leads the
young away to water, never
to return to the nest again
that year.
Sometimes people have
to help ducklings across
busy roads or fences by
1 1 . MALLARD HEN BY JIM ROETZEL, DEM8INSKY PHOTO ASSOCIATES
placing the young in a box
and having the hen follow them to a safe location. Single or
orphan ducklings can be placed in wetlands with other broods
about the same age.
Jan Welsh is coordinator of the DNR's Project WILD, a program for schools.
RESOURCES
Green Wings, sponsored by Ducks Unlimited, offers memberships
and a magazine for young people. Call Dave Stensland, 507-435-2013.
Minnesota Waterfowl Association has programs for young
people, including Woody Camp, a weeklong hunting and duck
ecology camp. Call 612-922-2832.
Woodworking for Wildlife by Carrol Henderson has plans for
building nest boxes for cavity-nesting ducks. Call Minnesota's
Bookstore, 612-297-3000 or toll-free in Minnesota 800-657-3757.
M ARCH-APRIL 1998 49