Share

Wintering wildfowl

Wigeon, teal and shovelers by Wendy Carter

Dive into the world of dabbling ducks...

Like many other children, when I was little we regularly used to feed the ducks in the local park. Of course, now I know that feeding them our going-out-of-date bread wasn't very good for them; it's like us constantly grazing on junk food - it fills us up but it's no good for our health. At the time, though, it was just great to get close up to wildlife. But I had no idea that the ducks in the park were not the only ducks that existed.

What we refer to as 'ducks' are usually mallards. We have large numbers of sedentary, breeding mallards on our 'tamer' wetlands in the UK - they're common in towns along Severn as it runs through our county, they're on lakes in local parks and even on duck ponds in villages. They have much wilder mallard cousins that breed on remote waterbodies and even wilder ones that migrate long distances; these wouldn't know what bread is! 

It's not just in our gardens and local woodlands that we notice migratory birds arriving; from now until early spring, it's time to find a wetland and go duck-spotting. Ducks, geese and swans arrive in the UK in their millions during autumn and winter, escaping harsher weather elsewhere. It's estimated, for example, that our 61,000 pairs of breeding mallard are joined by more than 600,000 mallards during winter.

What are some of the ducks might you spot as you're out and about across Worcestershire?

Male and female wigeon on water. The male is much more colourful - chestnut head with a yellowy stripe down the forehead, peachy chest and speckled grey wings. The female is a mottled brown, with a blue bill.

Wigeon by Wendy Carter

Wigeon

Wigeon breed in Scotland and northern England but in winter they’re found across the UK as their numbers are swelled by birds from Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia. Male wigeon are easy to spot with their chestnut heads with a yellow stripe down the forehead, pinky breasts, white tummies and and speckled grey wings. Look for them grazing in the shallows or on wet grasslands and listen for their rich whistles as they chatter to each other. 

Male and female teal. The male has a dark chestnut top to the head and cheek with a dark green stripe running over the eye. The wings are mainly grey and there's a vivid splash of green/blue amongst the wing feathers. The female is mainly brown but also has the green/blue flash.

Teal by Wendy Carter

Teal

Teals are small dabbling ducks whose numbers are swelled by the arrival of around half a million birds each autumn/winter. Female ducks often have subdued colouring so they can remain camouflaged on the nest so, just like wigeon, it's the males that have the colourful glory. This time you're looking for chestnut heads with golden-edged dark green eye patches, grey wings and a neon green flash on the wings. Easily missed, watch for them dabbling in shallow water at the edges of lakes and in muddy patches. Listen out for their short 'peep' calls.

Male shoveler duck flapping its wings by Wendy Carter

Shoveler by Wendy Carter

Shoveler

Shovelers have almost comically wide bills; they might look a little incongruous but they help them to feed on zooplankton, which are tiny organisms that drift within water bodies. Males have dark green heads with white breasts and chestnut flanks. They breed in small numbers in the UK (and have bred at our Upton Warren wetland reserve) but are another bird whose numbers are swelled by the arrival of thousands of birds from Scandinavia, the Baltic and Russia. Towards the end of winter, watch the males and females swimming in a circle as they reaffirm their pairing and listen for their 'chuck-chuck' call.

If you're interested in doing more than just watching wildfowl, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) would love your help in recording wetland birds. There are a few vacant waterbodies where counting and reporting the number of birds would be welcomed. Take a look at the BTO's Wetland Bird Survey website for more information.

With Christmas coming up, if you're stuck for present ideas for a bird-loving friend or relative, why not buy them membership of the Trust so they can head out to Upton Warren as often as they like?

Related blog posts