Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Red-breasted Merganser

These thin, long-bodied ducks with the thin red bill and shaggy crest are definitely something to be seen.  They are found in small groups and will be observed in salt water in both sheltered coasts and bays.  They are less common inland, but will certainly make exceptions.

These birds are very similar to the Common Merganser who nests in cavities and favors fresh water.  These fish eaters are known as sawbills, as they are so equipped.  The most widespread of all the mergansers, this sexually dimorphic duck is a strong flyer, easily capable of reaching speeds of eighty miles per hour.  Unless it is breeding, it will be usually found at sea both inshore and well offshore.

This late breeder may not have fledged young until September, and it first breeds at the age of two, a notoriously late breeder.  Females incubate as the males tend to leave for points unknown in order to molt.  The species breeds further north and winters further south than the other species of mergansers.

                                                             Red-breasted Mergansers
                                                              Boomer Lake Park, 2017

Generally silent, during breeding times they have usually been found grunting and croaking.

Like the Common Merganser, these diving ducks will herd fish and drive them inland to have an easier time foraging.  They also hunt collectively.

Oklahoma Migratory Species Profile: Common Merganser

This merganser is often confused with the Red-breasted Merganser, but is it heavier and has a thicker bill.  The non-breeding adult also has a very contrasting white patch under the chin and at the throat.  In flight, it also shows more body white.

A large duck of mountains, lakes, and rivers, the Common Merganser is a tree, under tree root, nest box, or crevice nester that eats fish or other invertebrates.  They commonly will form a semicircle, forcing fish into the shallower water, making it easier to capture them.  These elegant birds are striking, with an unusual appearance that gives them a name for bad hair days.  They tend to sit low in the water, and besides the attractive colors, they have a serrated bill that they use for holding onto assorted seafood.  These diving ducks will winter as far south as Mexico, and at one time or another spend some of their time within the US keeping away from waters that freeze.




               Common Merganser in Cardiff
                           123rf.com

The male will abandon the family once the young hatch, and the female will stay with them for about a week after they fledge.  There is a photo on the internet that shows a female Common Merganser with 76 young, but most of these were adopted or just temporarily in her care.  A hen will lay up to a dozen or so eggs.  These birds utilize a creche system, which is basically a day care center where a matriarchal female is in charge of overseeing the young.  The sawbill becomes sexually mature at two years of age.

This species is climate threatened, and like many others are expanding their range in a northeasterly direction.

These ducks have been known to swallow large fish nearly a foot in length, and in the winter, these ducks can form large rafts.  They don't move well on land, but when forced to run from a predator, they often take an upright position.

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Ring-necked Duck

A common winter bird of Oklahoma, the Ring-necked Duck winters on lakes, rivers, ponds, yet very rarely on salt water.  A breeder of the northeast, Boreal Forest, around the Great Lakes, and along western mountains, this striking duck is best identified by the crown at the peak of the head and the ring around the bill.  The male's coloring is also very handsome.  The female has a distinctive white eye ring and a strip at the facial end of the bill.  She is various shades of brown with a gray face.

This diving duck is gregarious and will mix with many other diving ducks on wintering lakes.  Many times they will be observed with scaups.  They will fly directly up from the water without having to get that running start like many other diving ducks.

male Ring-necked Duck

Boomer Lake Park, 2015

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These are the likeliest of North American ducks to ingest lead shot from the bottom of wetlands, making them very susceptible to lead poisoning.  This is another reason to advocate the eradication of lead shot, as it has a strong effect on our diving duck population.  However it is difficult to remove what has already been deposited in the waterways. 

The ring around its neck is almost never seen.  It is a faint brownish band around the base of the neck, likely seen most commonly by duck hunters.

Pair formation begins in winter.  The pulling back and thrusting forward of the head and rapid nodding of the head will be noted during this time, directed at females of the species.

Climate change predictions indicate that this bird will winter over most of the continental US and breeding areas will be heading in a northerly direction.

This small- to medium-sized diver has an apparent white wedge shaped coloration at the shoulder, which is readily visible while the bird is in flight.

Some of these neotropical migrants will go to Central America and the northern Caribbean.

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Ruddy Duck

A stiff tailed duck of winter, the Ruddy Duck male arrives before the female when it is time to breed.  Commonly found in the open waters of lakes, sheltered coves, and ponds in a tight cluster, these small, yet robust ducks will sometimes mix with other species.

These prairie pothole, southern Rocky Mountain, and intermountain western breeders construct nests in bulrush and cattails over water.  The diving ducks feed upon seeds, other vegetable matter, as well as protein, especially during breeding season.

The least number of overwintering birds is in the interior of the country, where they lethargically appear to be at rest most of the time.  Similar to what would be a bathtub rubber duck in appearance, in order to become airborne they run across the water.  It is suspected that these birds migrate at night.

                                                          Ruddy Duck in mid-Dive
                                                          Boomer Lake Park, 2015

The Dark-headed variant (nominate subspecies or Andean Duck) breeds in northern Mexico and commonly is found in Mexico and Guatamala in the winter.  It is a common resident of the Caribbean, and is also seen in South America where it is both common, as well as rare in the Andes vicinity.

Sometimes remaining locally longer than normal, the males will be observed in their breeding plumage, which includes a bright blue bill, nearly fluorescent white check patch, and a shiny chestnut colored body.  The breeding female is a dull brown with white cheek patch, and a dark cap.  During the winter, the female has a dark line across the cheek with a dull cheek patch, brown body and crown.  The adult male is a little brighter than her in his non-breeding plumage.

With legs that sit far back on the body, they do not move well on land.

Oklahoma Vagrants: Fulvous Whistling-Duck

pi-piTEEEW or pitheeew

Found in small flocks in shallow ponds or grassy marshes, this colorful duck can be active at night.  It also whistles continuously while in flight.  They run to take off while in the water, and will stretch the neck and legs down while landing.

This species started coming to Hackberry Flats in 2010 and still does so to the present day, but more often now.  It appears that this is the only location in the state that it frequents other than possibly Red Slough, but it was not in McCurtain County in 2018.

The fulvous tree duck is known to wander hundreds of miles in roving flocks, yet unlike the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, they rarely perch in trees.

                                                           Fulvous Whistling-Duck
                                                                     TX 2015

Both diurnal and nocturnal this cavity nester breeds in southern Louisiana and Texas, and has large global range.  This rust colored duck with gray bill, long legs, and a distinctive white band is shown across the tail while in flight.  Though the are herbivorous, the female will partake of worms, insects, and mollusks prior to egg laying.  A quarter of her diet will consist of cereal grains while she is incubating.

They are susceptible to power line collisions and have trouble with pesticides used in rice crops, but despite this, as well as hunting, it still manages to be a species of least concern in its large sweep in the southern hemisphere.

Birds of the Sea: White-winged Scoter

A large and dark sea duck, this bird has a thick neck and a more wedge-shaped head than the other species of scoters.  Seen both on the east and west coasts of the United States in winter, this uncommon duck nests on large lakes of the boreal forest as well as in Alaska.

The most recent observation in Oklahoma was in January of 2018 at Ponca City Lakes, Lake Murray in Love, and several times at Lake Waurika. It turns up in Oklahoma during many winters, which is much warmer that the northern breeding grounds at that time of year.  The only instance it was observed in Stillwater, was at Meridian Technology Ponds in November of 2017.   Ducks had also been found at Sooner Lake by this writer in 2015 and had also been seen there in 2010.

                                                     
                                                            Female White-winged Scoter
                                                                 Sooner Lake, OK 2015

At one time, breeding was common in North Dakota at Devils Lake and Stump Lake in Nelson County (possibly in the 1950s), but now has only been occasionally seen in the winter, last sighting in 2017.  Since it is now a Boreal breeder, it is logical that they would be in the area occasionally.

In fresh water, they feed upon insects and crustaceans, and in salt water, they enjoy crustaceans and mollusks, especially mussels and clams.