Photo: Common Mergansers, Gail Norwood/Audubon Photography Awards
By Tom Blackburn
We’ve already had our first snowfall of the season, and it’s getting colder, but that’s not a reason to stop going out to see birds. This is a great time to look for the winter waterfowl that are migrating to our area from colder areas to the north and west.
Waterfowl are one bright spot among all the disturbing news about the loss of bird populations. Waterfowl populations have increased by 50% over the last 50 years, thanks to funding under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and matching grants from conservation groups. 98 percent of the purchase price of Federal Duck Stamps is used to help acquire and protect wetland habitat and purchase conservation easements for the National Wildlife Refuge system.
What can you see if you venture out to the Potomac River, wetlands such as Huntley Meadows or sheltered areas like Pohick Bay Regional Park? Look for Northern Pintails, the most elegant of all ducks, with long necks, pointed upturned tails and beautiful gray, white and brown coloring. Male Ruddy Ducks are easy to spot, with blue bills and chestnut-colored bodies. Northern Shovelers, named for their broad, spade-shaped bills, are distinctive with green heads, black backs, white chests and reddish-brown flanks. The large white patch on the head of the male Bufflehead, plus its dark back and white lower body, make this small duck easy to see. Female Common Mergansers and Hooded Mergansers look like they’re having a bad hair day, with ragged red or brown crests.
Lots of other waterfowl spend their winters here. You can find American Black Ducks, Redheads (the birds, not the humans!), Canvasbacks and Ring-necked Ducks, American Wigeons, Green-winged Teal, Gadwalls and scaup.
Tundra Swans are wintering in the Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge, and you can see thousands of Snow Geese at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and other areas along the Chesapeake. Watching a huge flock of Snow Geese fly up from the marsh and circle, as they do every 20 or 30 minutes, is simply awe-inspiring.
Do you want to learn more about the waterfowl that you can see this winter? Come to “Winter Waterfowl of the Potomac,” our next Audubon Afternoon, at 2:30 PM on Sunday, January 12, 2020. Take a look at our website for more information about this Audubon Afternoon and our free Winter Waterfowl Workshop and field trip.