Feb. 7, 2021 - St. Marks NWR - Ducks

My visit to St. Marks NWR in northern Florida gave me great looks at the many species of ducks that stay there in winter. This is a male Bufflehead. At only 13½ inches long, it is one of the smallest ducks we see in North America. It nests in tree cavities and is so small, that it often uses old Flicker holes.

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I like to get to St. Marks early in January because some of the ducks, including this male Canvasback, start to migrate north in late January or early February. At 21 inches long, the Canvasback is one of our larger ducks. It has a long, sloping bill, white body, black neck, reddish head, and a bright red eye.

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This is a female Canvasback. Her vertical posture is a result of stretching her legs down to stir up the mud at the bottom of the pond. She also has a long, sloping, dark bill like the male.

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The Redhead is the most common winter duck species along the Gulf of Mexico coast. We often see large rafts of them as we drive along the shore. Redheads are about 19 inches long, and this is a male.

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Here’s a female Redhead. I have read that female Redheads often lay eggs in the nests of other ducks, including other Redheads. Some, apparently, lay all their eggs in other nests and don’t have to do any incubating at all.

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I managed to get both a male and female Greater Scaup in the same photo.

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The Northern Shoveler looks a lot like a Mallard, but look at the size of that bill! Surely that huge bill must have been the inspiration for the name Shoveler. It uses its bill to strain food from the water of the ponds it inhabits. Shovelers are about 19 inches long, and this is a male.

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This is a male American Wigeon. It’s about 20 inches long. A male usually has a thick, bright green stripe running from its eye down the back of its neck. This one is missing that green stripe so It might be a first-year male who has mostly molted into adult plumage but just hasn’t quite finished.

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