Ducks of Minnesota

material, favoring wild rice and sago pondweed.

Wood duck

Size: About 20 inches, 1-1/2 pounds

Colorful wood ducks nest in hollow trees throughout Minnesota, near wooded river bottoms and potholes, flooded hardwood forests and lakes where nuts, berries, weed seeds, insects, and plants are available. Their willingness to use man-made nest boxes has helped bring wood ducks back from the brink of extinction.

Identification: Broad wings and a long square tail. Drakes have a blue-green crested head with white stripes, reddishbrown breast, buff sides and red eyes. Hens are brown with white speckled breast, crested head, and white eye ring.

Sounds: The hen’s “wee-e-e-e-k, wee-e-e-e-k” whistle is commonly heard.

Fun facts: Wood ducks, also called woodies, have a strong grip and can perch on branches.

Mallard

Size: About 24 inches, 2-1/2 to 3 pounds

Popular with both hunters and birdwatchers, the wide-ranging mallard is often seen in rural and urban wetlands, ponds, and lakes throughout Minnesota. They eat sedge seeds, grasses, knotweed, aquatic plants and insects, corn, grains, snails and wild rice.

Identification: A large paddle duck with a blue patch on the wing. Drakes have a distinctive glossy green head and white neck collar. Hens are mostly brown. Both sexes look like females in the summer.

Sounds: Hens use a loud, long series of quacks. Drakes have a low-pitched “wheat” call.

Fun facts: Mallards swim with their tail held above the water, so they can spring directly into the air when threatened.

Blue-winged teal

Size: About 15 inches, one pound

This fast-flying paddle duck travels in flocks and breeds in prairie areas during the spring. Sensitive to cold, they migrate south sooner than most ducks in Minnesota. They like to eat aquatic insects, weed seeds and plants.

Identification: A very small duck with a small black bill. Drakes have a white facial crescent, chestnut spots on the breast, and pale blue wing patches. Hens are gray-brown with pale blue wing patches.

Sounds: A faint “tsee-tsee” call and a high-pitched quack.

Fun facts: Cinnamon teal look nearly identical to their blue-winged cousins until spring, when both species grow their distinctive breeding plumage.

Ring-necked duck

Size: About 16 inches, 1-3/4 pounds

Ring-necked ducks breed mostly in Minnesota’s northwestern counties, preferring small bodies of water such as wooded potholes. They eat only plant

Identification: A small diving duck with bright yellow eyes, dark body and wings, a brown neck ring and a white ring on the front of its bill. Drakes are mostly black. Hens are dark brown.

Sounds: Hens have a high-pitched purr.

Fun facts: The ring-necked duck is also known as a ringbill.

Bufflehead

Size: About 14 inches and 13 ounces

The bufflehead is a beautiful little duck that nests in abandoned flicker holes in aspen parkland from extreme northwestern Minnesota to Saskatchewan. They forage underwater for insects, plants, crustaceans, mollusks and fish eggs.

Identification: This species has a distinctive head shape caused by a puff of feathers. Drakes have white chest and flanks, iridescent green and purple face and a large white patch on the head. Hens are brownish with a white patch on the cheek.

Sounds: Drakes have a grating or chattering mating call and may squeal or growl. Hens have a guttural “cuk-cuk-cuk” and summon their ducklings with a low, throaty note.

Fun facts: Also known as a spirit duck, the bufflehead is very monogamous and migrates punctually. Gathering in small groups, one duck acts as a sentry while others dive for food.

Lesser scaup

Size: About 17 inches, 1-3/4 pounds

This fast flier can be found near larger bodies of water, where they sometimes sit in flocks of more than 10,000. They eat aquatic insects, wild rice and other vegetation and nest in grassy fields or on floating mats of vegetation. They are found primarily in northern Minnesota.

Identification: A bulb-shaped, medium-sized diving duck. Drakes have dark purple heads, white sides and yellow eyes. Hens have dark brown backs, brown sides, white bellies and a white ring around their bills.

Sounds: Hens have a high-pitched purr.

Fun facts: Historically, tens of thousands of lesser and greater scaup have migrated through the Lake of the Woods Pine & Curry Island Important Bird Area, though their population has fallen in recent years.

Canvasback

Size: About 21 inches, 2-1/2 pounds

This fast-flying diving duck sometimes gathers in large numbers on northcentral Minnesota lakes. They nest in early May and eat sago pondweed, wild celery tubers, wild rice and aquatic insects.

Identification: This large duck has a sloping bill. Drakes have red eyes, cinnamon-colored heads and brilliant white backs. Females have tan heads, dark brown breasts and cream sides and bellies.

Sounds: Hens have a deep staccato purring, and drakes have a “whoo” call.

Fun facts: Canvasbacks build floating nests out of cattails or bulrushes.