This week’s Bird of the Week, compliments of the Weminuche Audubon Society and Audubon Rockies, is the blue-winged teal.
This migratory duck regularly shows up later than others in our area to spend some time before continuing on to breeding territories. The blue-winged teal is a long distance migrant, with some wintering as far away as South America and others spending this season in Mexico and Central America. It does not tolerate cold weather well and is one of the last ducks to migrate north in spring and the first to fly south in fall.
Although some travel as far north as Alaska to nest, most breed in shallow ponds and wetlands in the prairies of the central United States and Canada. The availability of suitable nesting habitat is dictated by wetland conditions on the prairies, some years good, some not. Nest failure from predation by mammals often exceeds 90 percent. Despite these odds, blue-winged teal are the second most abundant duck in North America.
No. 1 status is held by the mallard.
The blue-winged teal is the second smallest duck in North America, only slightly larger than the green-winged teal. If you see one side by side with a mallard, you can appreciate just how small they are. In breeding plumage, a male is buffy colored with black speckles covering the body. On his bluish gray head, he sports a bold, white crescent in front of each eye. The males we see in fall are a different story, resembling the brown, patterned females. In flight, their wings show green patches below the powdery blue shoulder patches for which they are named.
These ducks feed by dabbling and rarely dive. For this reason, they prefer to forage in shallow water and mudflats. The majority of their diet is plant material, and they feed on the seeds of rice, millet and water lilies. Before and after egg laying, females fulfill protein requirements by consuming a large amount of invertebrates.
World Migratory Bird Day, celebrated yearly on the second Saturday of May, this year focuses on the importance of insects to bird life. You can do your part by reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers in your living space.
For information on events, visit www.weminucheaudubon.org and www.facebook.com/weminucheaudubon/.