It is difficult to imagine a bird that is sometimes identified
from a distance by its loud, yodeling, three-part calls. Others
describe the call as mellow or barking-like while some claim the
bird to be noisy and garrulous. I hear a rather musical call
sounding like "ow-owdle-ow," with the last syllable
rising in pitch and being the loudest. Such is the reputation
earned by the long-tailed duck, especially now during their time
of courtship. Formerly this duck was referred to (politically
incorrectly) as the oldsquaw.
Here is a duck that breeds far to the north and, based upon
its strange vocalizations, has received a host of nicknames
including old squaw, old wife, noisy duck, hound, etc. Other
names, such as south-southerly, cockawee, quandy, coal and candle
light, are somewhat crude imitations of the unusual rousing
sounds coming from the drake long-tails that, at times, all
appear to be fighting over the same female.
I have been fascinated by flocks of a hundred or more in late
March on the lake off Cave Point County Park and also at Death’s
Door as observed from the end of the Washington Island Ferry dock
at Northport. What hilarious splashing, chasing, fighting and
calling one is apt to see and hear.
What’s interesting is that the predominantly black and white
drakes with their long flashy tails apparently can sense when one
of the females is ready to mate because they all appear to
concentrate their frantic efforts on that one bird while other
nearby females appear to be entirely overlooked.
Every now and then one of the drakes will take off in hot
pursuit of another drake, often catching up to the bird and
fighting it down into the water. One can only guess why these
frequent swift careening chases take place. These ducks are very
strong and fast fliers. Some Eskimos claim that the long-tails
are the fastest flying of all ducks that nest in the North.
Males are very boldly patterned in black and white and sport
long, slender central tail feathers. Their dark beaks have a
broad pink band easily seen from a distance. Females are duller
and lack the long tail feathers. Both males and females show
all-dark pattern-less underwings in flight.
In winter these strong diving ducks are known to feed mainly
on mollusks, shrimps and crabs. My guess is that one of their
primary foods near the Lake Michigan shore is the zebra mussel.
Most diving ducks propel themselves when below the surface of the
water with their feet while long-tailed ducks use their partially
folded wings to travel underwater. Their incredible diving
strength as they search for food has been proven by birds that
have been caught in nets as deep as 200 feet below the surface.
Years ago reports came from commercial fishermen on the Great
Lakes, using gill nets for catching whitefish and lake trout, who
found long-tailed ducks that had been caught in their nets at a
depth of 180 feet.
Their main appearance in Wisconsin in winter on Lake Michigan
may be anywhere between Kenosha and northern Door County,
wherever there is open water. It is usually in late October that
the first ones appear in the state and by April 15 the majority
of them have left for the North. According to Sam Robbins’
excellent book, "Wisconsin Birdlife," the greatest
winter concentrations occur in the Milwaukee area. Christmas
bird counts there in the past have occasionally reached 15,000.
The long-tail’s scientific name is Clangula hyemalis
and refers to a noise in winter. Years ago, ornithologists in
observing especially the males in winter and spring, came to
conclude that they were two different species, hyemalis and
glacialis. Eventually it was learned that the drake
long-tail is one of the few ducks in the entire world that takes
on a distinctly nuptial plumage and, other than its elegant long
tail, appears like an entirely different species.
By late spring the male will sport a mostly dark brown plumage
with the exception of its whitish flanks and a large white
"spectacle" around each eye. You may be able to
observe the beginning phases of this color change this month
before these ducks head north for the summer. Checking your
field guides you will find that the male long tails that were
hatched last summer, and are now classified as second-year birds,
are still appearing much like the adult females and that they
lack the long tails of the older breeding-age males. These
young second-year males won’t reach breeding age until the
following spring.
Here is a very handsome duck that is easy to identify and who
may announce its presence from a considerable distance. Head for
the shores of Lake Michigan and hopefully these highly-marked and
extremely vocal ducks will entertain you royally and you will
return home with plenty of rollicking "tales" to talk
about!
The adult male long-tailed duck is flanked
by a female on the left and a young second-year male on his right.
This column appeared in the Door County Advocate
on 03/28/2003.
© Copyright 2003 Roy Lukes. All rights reserved.
