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Our Winter Waterfowl
Written By: William McReynolds - Highlands Plateau Audubon Society | Issue: Winter 2024
Our winged winter residents provide color and sound and life to our ice-rimmed wetlands, but they’re dwindling in number.
Male and Female Hooded Mergansers
Winter holds its own special avian delights in and around our local wetlands: lakes, ponds, flooded fields and estuaries.
At Mirror Lake near Highlands, for instance, you can often spot any number of Black Ducks, Ring-necked Ducks, Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser and Mallards.
Nearby Lake Junaluska, which offers both scenic vistas and a slightly warmer climate than the lakes and ponds on the Highlands Plateau, plays winter host to Ruddy Ducks, Gadwalls, American Widgeon and Osprey.
These birds sport surprising colors and headgear. They are also much larger than most perching birds due in part to the amount of body fat they carry to get them through lean winter days. Spotting them from water’s edge is easy this time of the year and, with a good pair of binoculars, you can even ogle them from the warmth and comfort of your flivv
er. Canada Geese are common in our area on lakes and golf courses. They are almost always seen in flocks at ground level or in characteristic high-flying V formations. Within their flocks they are highly social and hierarchically orga-nized. The Canadas’ loud honks often announce their departures and arrivals.
Mallards are also numerous in the winter. The Mallard is the ancestor of practically all domestic ducks. They are monogamous and usually pair in the fall but can be observed courting and pair-bonding in the winter months as well. Strong fliers, they can reach speeds of 50 miles per hour. Only female Mallards quack; males emit a much quieter, raspy sound. Their diet, like that of Canada Geese, is varied depending on the season and includes seeds, aquatic vegetation, insects and grain.
Our winter waterfowl attest to the tenac-ity and robustness of life. Despite this, their numbers are decreasing due largely to loss of habitat which is itself tied to changes in atmospheric temperature and human land use. We conserve our colorful waterfowl and the balances of nature by protecting and conserving the natural wetlands in our area.
The mission of the Highlands Plateau Audubon Society is to provide opportu-nities to enjoy and learn about birds and other wildlife and to promote conserva-tion and restoration of the habitats that support them. HPAS is a 501(c)(3) organization. Visit highlandsaudubonso-ciety.orgfor information on membership and all activities.
