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There’s nothing like pulling up to your favorite pond
and seeing huge groupings of d ucks. Make that grouping a species other than mallards and the experience is enhanced that much more. (Enter required disclaimer
here: Not that there’s anything wrong with mallards, but they are by far our most common duck and it’s nice to
see other species every once in a while.)
The other day I visited
a handful of local ponds and every one had significant numbers of ring-necked ducks, a handsome black-and-white duck with
yellow eyes, an obvious white ring around its bill and hardly noticeable tan ring around its neck. (The females are brown,
but still have a ringed bill.)
Ring-necked ducks far outnumbered
every other duck species I saw that day. At Wood’s Pond in Norwalk, Conn., for example, there were dozens and dozens
of ring-necked ducks in three separate groupings — that I saw anyway — and only two hooded mergansers,
which at other times can be the most common duck there. Maybe they returned later in the day or were simply hiding from my
view, but I didn’t see any American wigeon or gadwall, which can also be the most numerous duck on the small pond.
I even found a few ring-necked ducks at the small pond at Andrew’s Field
in Norwalk. I don’t spend a lot of time there looking, but it was the first time I had seen anything other than mallards,
Canada geese or mute swans there.
Timing is everything with duck
watching and apparently this was the ring-necked ducks’ peak time.
The large numbers of ducks I saw got me thinking about how ducks are faring in general. Ducks will soon be heading
north to their breeding area so I thought this would be an appropriate time to look at the state of ducks in our country.
Just how many ducks will be heading north and how many will return to us next fall?
The exact numbers, of course, are impossible to figure, but a recent survey by the United States Fish
and Wildlife Service reveals that ducks are actually doing OK. A 2007 mid-continent breeding and habitat survey, comparing
2006 data, noted increased populations in nine of the 10 most common ducks found in that area. Only the northern pintail saw
a population decrease, a drop of two percent. American wigeon increased 29 percent, canvasback increased 25 percent and northern
shoveler increased 24 percent.
Overall there was a 14 percent increase.
Favorable weather and habitat conditions helped the ducks in spring 2007. Ducks Unlimited, a great organization with a mission
to conserve wetlands and waterfowl, was happy with the results, but also concerned about the amount of suitable breeding land
being converted to cropland.
The numbers may or may not compare
exactly to the populations in New England, but it’s a good snapshot.
New England, of course, is lacking the broad expanses of prairie breeding grounds that are ideal for breeding. Plenty
of ducks do, however, breed in New England and it’s critical to preserve those areas. Whether it’s a small pond
such as Wood’s Pond or any of the other countless small ponds and lakes that dot New England — even if it’s
in a backyard — it’s vitally important to keep them suitable for breeding ducks, such as wood ducks and hooded
mergansers.
I come across dozens of goldeneye every time I visit
the larger lakes of northern New England and have on occasion found common mergansers with ducklings. Several other waterfowl
species, including loons, also breed there. It’s critical to keep those lakes free from the developer’s machinery
as well.
Last year was a good year for waterfowl and the dozens
of ring-necked ducks that I saw this week are a product of that. I’ll be looking again this fall and the following spring,
so let’s hope 2008 is another good year.
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