will be encountered.
It's been customary, among those who observe birds, to lump
wild ducks into two broad groups, the "divers" and the
"dabblers." Most often the divers, also referred to as
"bay" ducks, including oldsquaws, buffleheads,
canvasbacks, redheads, common goldeneyes, scaups and mergansers
will occupy the deep waters of Lake Michigan, Green Bay and the
deeper inland ponds. Some of these waterfowl are known for their
need to "run" along the surface of the water in order
to achieve sufficient speed for take-off.
The dabblers, also known as "puddle" ducks, include
species such as mallards, American wigeons, shovelers, pintails,
teal, and wood ducks. All of these ducks are capable of
practically "jumping" straight upward and out of the
water on take-off. Consequently they can occupy small ponds, or
"puddles," for nesting.
One of the best-remembered bits of advice I ever received in
my life came from Fred and Fran Hamerstrom, the famous prairie
chicken people from the Buena Vista Marsh area south of Stevens
Point, as they oriented a group of us birders prior to going out
before dawn the following day to observe and study prairie
chickens. It had been a very wet spring resulting in numerous
huge puddles of water on nearly all of the narrow dirt roads of
that area.
Fran jokingly informed us that, should we come upon dabbler
ducks in a puddle in the road ahead of us, it would be perfectly
safe to drive through the water. However, in the case that there
were diving ducks on the puddle, by no means should we attempt to
drive through but rather go around the water hazard!
The relatively small amount of late winter and early spring
precipitation this year has resulted in many dried up ponds that,
in normal springs, contain plenty of water for migrating as well
as summer nesting waterfowl. Pintail ducks were totally absent
on our waterfowl lists this year. Even tundra swans were fewer
in number compared to previous years, surely related to the lack
of standing water.
Our daily sightings of mallards and the giant race of Canada
geese continue to be high, increasing in this region from year to
year. Small numbers of American wigeons, green-winged teal and
shovelers came through the area, stopping for a few weeks to rest
and feed before continuing to their northern breeding grounds.
Fortunately here were good numbers of blue-winged teal, many of
which will remain to nest in this region.
Noticeably down thus far this spring have been the hooded
mergansers and wood ducks. Word from birders to the south is
that they have had sufficient precipitation resulting in plenty
of standing water that in turn has kept many of these two
handsome species of ducks there. Whether or not they will
eventually move northward remains to be seen. Incidentally, both
of these species are cavity nesters. The only other duck,
mentioned thus far, that also nests in tree cavities is the
common goldeneye duck, a species that does nest sparingly in
northeastern Door County near the shore of Lake Michigan.
Surely the wood duck, a fairly common nester in northeastern
Wisconsin, ranks high on the list of favorite waterfowl for many
people. It happens to be our favorite duck when it comes to
outright elegance. Few if any North American waterfowl could
surpass the drake wood duck in a beauty contest.
Naturally the ducks, geese and swans that you are enjoying now
are in their breeding plumage. The drakes are at their finest.
Soon they will be paired and begin nesting, and it is during this
critical period in their lives that they undergo a most unusual
but wonderful change. It happens to the parent waterfowl just
about the time their young are big enough to follow mama and papa
with ease. The adults, having gradually attained their rather
dull eclipse plumage during the preceding few weeks, now suddenly
lose all of their flight feathers. They are flightless!
Fortunately they can still swim, dive, and splash with
considerable speed, but cannot take to the air. Perhaps this is
nature's way of keeping the entire family together, and surely
the duller coat of feathers provides the usually more colorful
and conspicuous male greater protection from predators during his
brief flightless condition. Some of the drakes will be back in
their full color "regalia" by the middle of September.
Other birds as well, including swans, geese, loons and grebes,
lose all of their wing primaries at one time rendering them
flightless for several weeks following the breeding season,
nature's way of "clipping their wings," of insuring
that the waterfowl families remain together.
It's just one of thousands of excellent examples of the
efficient controls found in nature, so wonderful in fact that it
would do all people well to sit up and take notice. Do you
suppose it would be fitting, from time to time, for humans to
have their wings clipped?
