Birdwatch By Susan Campbell

Winter Waterbirds

Coming in out of th e col d

Buffleheads

By SuSa n Ca m pBel l The arrival of cold weather in the Sandhills and Piedmont also means the arrival of waterfowl. Our local ponds and lakes are the winter home to more than two dozen different species of ducks, geese and swans. Over the years, as water features both large and small have been added throughout the area, the diversity of waterfowl has increased significantly. Although we are all familiar with our local mallards and Canada geese, a variety of aquatic birds frequent our area from November through March.

Cer tainly, the most abundant and w idespread species is the r ingnecked duck, flock s of which can be seen div ing for aquatic invertebrate prey in sha llow ponds and coves. T he ma les have ir idescent blue heads, black sides and g ray back s. T hey get their name f rom the indistinct r ust y r ing at the base of their neck s. T he fema les, as w ith a ll tr ue duck species, are quite nondescr ipt. T hey are light brow n a ll over and, like the ma les, have a g ray ish-blue bill w ith a white band around it.

However, the most noticeable of our w inter ing water fowl would be the buf fleheads. T hey for m sma ll g roups that dive in deeper water, feeding on vegetation and inver tebrates. T he mat ure ma les have a br ight white hood and body w ith ir idescent dark g reen back, face and neck. A lso, they spor t br ight orange legs and feet, which they w ill flash dur ing conf rontations. But the fema les (as well as the immat ure indiv idua ls of both sexes) of this species are drab, too — mainly brow n w ith the only contrast being a sma ll white cheek patch. Interestingly, buf flehead is the one species of mig rator y duck that act ua lly mates for life. T his is genera lly a trait found only in the largest of water fowl: swans and geese.

T here are sever a l t y p es of aquat ic birds sim i lar to duck s t hat c a n b e ident ifie d if one c a n get a go o d lo ok , wh ich usua l ly re qu ires bino c u lars. In sma l l numb ers, c ommon lo ons c a n b e se en d iv ing for fi sh on larger la kes in w inter, a nd even more so dur ing spr ing a nd f a l l m ig r at ion. T heir si ze a nd shap e are qu ite d ist inc t ive (a s is t heir yo del ing song wh ich, sad ly, t hey do not tend to sing wh i le t hey are here).

We have another v isitor that can be conf used w ith loons: the double- crested cor morant. A long w ith its cousin the anhinga, it’s more closely related to seabirds, i.e., boobies and gannets. It is a ver y proficient diver w ith a shar ply ser rated bill adapted for catching fish. It is not uncommon to see cor morants in their “dr y ing” pose. T heir feathers are not as water proof as those of div ing duck s, so they only enter water to feed and bathe. Most of their time is spent sit ting on a dock or some sor t of perch to dr y out.

Two other species of waterbird can be found reg ularly at this time of year: pied-billed g rebes and A mer ican coots. Pied-billed g rebes are the sma llest of the sw immers we see in w inter w ith light brow n plumage, shor t thick bills and br ight white bot toms. Sur pr isingly, they are ver y active sw immers. T hey can chase dow n sma ll fish in just about any depth of water.

A mer ican coots — black, stock y birds w ith white bills — are scavengers, feeding mainly in aquatic vegetation. T hey can make shor t dives but are too buoyant to remain submerged for more than a few seconds. Given their long legs and well- developed toes, they are a lso adept at forag ing on foot. You may see them feeding on g rasses a long the edge of larger bodies of water — or even on the edge of golf course water ha zards. PS

Susan Campbell would love to receive your wildlife sightings and photos. She can be contacted at susan@ncaves.com.