Waterfowl Returning To Northern New England
Northern New England birders starved for the sight of colorful waterfowl in their binoculars and scopes are celebrating the timely arrival of waterfowl in open bodies of water. Both ducks that will remain and breed here, such as Wood Ducks, as well as those that are just stopping to refuel on the way to their more northern breeding grounds, such as Green-winged Teal, have made their appearance in recent days, and many more will follow in the coming weeks.
Wood Ducks can be found year-round as far north as southern Vermont and New Hampshire, but further north we lose them to the south in the winter. Like most ducks, migrant Wood Ducks depart shortly around sunset or shortly thereafter, and are thought to fly most of the night at speeds of 37 miles per hour or more. As the sun rises, they descend to rest and refuel. Look for them in rivers, swamps, marshes and ponds, where they refuel during the day.
Green-winged Teal typically migrate in large bunched flocks of up to a few hundred individuals, mostly at night. They tend to spend days during their migration in shallow inland wetlands and coastal marshes, typically with heavy vegetation and muddy bottoms. (Photo: Wood Ducks)
(Please excuse absence of Naturally Curious posts this week due to illness and lack of internet access.)
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We missed you!
March 1, 2017 at 9:08 am
Wishing you well SOON,
March 1, 2017 at 9:17 am
I hope you and your Internet are feeling much better!
March 1, 2017 at 9:27 am
Knew it had to be something like lack of internet – we struggle with it here too. Hope you are feeling better.
March 1, 2017 at 9:57 am
We had a pair of wood ducks here in Alton NH at Halfmoon Lake last summer they check out the location and she used a tree with a hole in it to nest. This was right in the front of my house so I got an excellent view and watched her come and go. I knew the date she started sitting and knew the approximate date of hatching, we were lucky to see the day that they all flew out of the nest, That in it self was a story because it was in the middle of a very bad wind storm and one duck had to return to the tree a few times before he managed to fly away.
March 1, 2017 at 9:57 am
Lucky, lucky you!!!
March 1, 2017 at 10:30 am
Those are challenging situations: to be ill & no internet. Hope you are both all “fixed.”
March 1, 2017 at 10:17 am
I’m glad you’re back and hope you are quite well. I was getting concerned.
March 1, 2017 at 10:20 am
I wish to compliment you on your superb photos, taken with a superb lens… And, oh, yes, I also enjoy the information you come up with, like a hungry bear… Feel better!
March 1, 2017 at 11:01 am
Feel better soon; I love your blog!
March 1, 2017 at 2:32 pm
Wishing you much better health soon!
March 1, 2017 at 6:21 pm
Hi Mary,
First, thanks for all your interesting emails!! I have a question:
Do Mallard Ducks usually migrate? We have had three Mallards here, from summer, stay here over the winter. We see them almost every other day or so, swimming back and forth between the coves one to our left and the other to our right. A couple of times they took advantage of our large tide pool (which we can swim in)
One is a male, and of the other two, I figure one’s a female, and maybe one is an adolescent… maybe? Or could it be 2 females for one male? — … maybe that’s where the expression “Lucky Duck” comes from! 😉
Ellen Rowan Sunshine, Deer Isle, ME
We are on the east side of Deer Isle, overlooking the Reach, and just NE of the Sunshine Causeway.
On Wed, Mar 1, 2017 at 9:06 AM, Naturally Curious with Mary Holland wrote:
> Mary Holland posted: “Northern New England birders starved for the sight > of colorful waterfowl in their binoculars and scopes are celebrating the > timely arrival of waterfowl in open bodies of water. Both ducks that will > remain and breed here, such as Wood Ducks, as well as tho” >
March 1, 2017 at 8:12 pm
On another topic: Monarch Butterfly decline [http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2017/monarch-butterfly-02-09-2017.php] , would you care to comment?
March 2, 2017 at 9:33 am
Love the wood duck. A large story lies behind their existence, just adding to their cryptic nature. Awesome post!
March 5, 2017 at 2:51 pm