Air Date: Week of October 20, 2023

Mallards are “dabbling” ducks, who feed by dipping their bills in water just below the surface or dunking head-first. (Photo: cahadikin, Flickr, Creative Commons)

The fall migration in the Northern Hemisphere is a great time to keep an eye out for birds that usually live elsewhere, as BirdNote®’s Mary McCann reports.

Transcript

O’NEILL: The fall migration in the Northern Hemisphere is a great time to keep an eye out for birds that usually live elsewhere, as BirdNote®’s Mary McCann reports.

BirdNote®

Ducks - Diving and Dabbling

[Wing sounds of Surf Scoters]

Autumn brings millions of ducks flying south after nesting in the north. In most parts of North America, fall migration brings the greatest diversity of ducks we’ll see all year. Goldeneyes, scaup, wigeons and other species join familiar year-round ducks such as Mallards.

[Quacking of mallards]

Take a close look at autumn’s ducks as they forage on the water. Some dabble, while others dive.

[Whistling calls of American Wigeon]

“Dabbling ducks,” like the wigeons we’re hearing, feed by dipping their bills in water just below the surface, or dunking head first, so all you see are their tails pointing skyward.
[Whistling calls of American Wigeons]
They strain bits of vegetation and small invertebrates with their flattened bills.

“Diving ducks,” including scaup and mergansers, forage while swimming under water, using their feet or wings for propulsion. “Divers” with narrow, pointed bills snatch fish, while those with flatter bills, like Common Goldeneyes search along the bottom for invertebrates such as small clams.

[Calls of Common Goldeneyes]

When you stop by a lake or saltwater beach this fall, keep an eye out for “dabblers” and “divers.” And take your time, because the divers may pop into view only when they need to catch a breath of air.

[More quacking and splashing]

###
Adapted by Bob Sundstrom from a script by Frances Wood
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Recorded by A.A. Allen and W.W.H. Gunn.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2014 Tune In to Nature.org September 2016/2019 October 2023
Narrator: Mary McCann
ID# duck-01c-2019-9-17 duck-01c

https://www.birdnote.org/listen/shows/ducks-diving-and-dabbling

O’NEILL: For pictures, dive into the Living on Earth website, loe dot org.

 

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