Redheads

It seems that every year I 'discover' a new bird. I say 'discover' in quotes as the bird has always been there but somehow not really noticed and given the attention that it deserves.

This year, while waiting for the main influx of migrants the Redheads showed up. Redheads are the earliest returning waterfowl with a peak return date of February 20. This year, like last, most of the water on the North shore of Lake Ontario where I live was frozen and these migrants were funneled into a few small areas waiting for the thaw.

I now realize why I never paid much attention to this attractive duck before ... they had probably moved on by the time that I came out of hibernation in mid March.

So in this post I celebrate the Redhead.

First a classic ID shot of a breeding male. Red is a stand-out colour among the Green-headed Goldeneye, Mallards and Scaup.

Most of these migrating Redheads are heading West to the Prairies where they nest in the small lakes known as 'Prairie Potholes'. Some do nest in the East as well.

The female Redhead must be one of the laziest birds there are. She is 'opportunistically parasitic' meaning that - she may make a nest, but sometimes she will lay eggs in the nest of another Redhead, a Canvasback or even an American Bittern. No one has studied this to understand ... is it the character of an individual bird that does this every year or is it due to stress caused by overcrowding. Here again is a 'poster' shot of a female Redhead.

The Redhead is smaller than a Mallard but larger than a Scaup.

 Here with a Greater Scaup there is a beautiful contrast between Red and Green.

And with a Common Goldeneye.

Redheads are diving ducks that are primarily plant feeders. Hunters call them 'small water divers' meaning that they practically inhabit the same habitat as Dabblers unlike the 'big water divers' like Eiders and Long-tails. I noticed that they seem to like to hang around Tundra Swans and often dive after the Swan (a dabbler) has surfaced. I guess that the Swans may disturb some vegetation making it easier for them to feed.

The Redhead population is decreasing mostly due to habitat loss and competition in the small ponds where they breed. 'Harvesting' at 300,000 to 400,000 makes it less hunted that the more common species like Mallards and Green-winged Teal but the numbers harvested are increasing despite the overall population decrease.

As the main tranche of waterfowl start moving in, the Redheads will depart so enjoy them while you can.