December 2020: Another Winter Duck Visitor – Ruddy Duck
I hope some of you have had a chance to walk around our lagoon and to observe our wintering ducks.
Another one of my favorites is the Ruddy Duck. They gather in small flocks (rafts). The males are brown with a very white half-moon shape on their cheeks. The females not as bright, but if you look closely you can see that half-moon design. Both males and females have a very pronounced tail that looks rather like a sail. Many sleep during the day as they feed on aquatic insects during the night.
In the spring, males molt into a very rich rusty brown and interestingly enough, their bills turn blue–a very pretty baby blue. All of this color change occurs before they head north for the mating season. They nest in marshes, and apparently their nests are built only a few inches over the water.
Happy Birding!