![]() What waterfowl do at night is often a direct result of what happens during the day. But contrasting results were reported for Canada geese in the East and in other parts of the Mississippi Flyway where nighttime feeding was common. The same was true for Canada geese in the Upper Midwest. Other work on northern-wintering sea ducks and mergansers showed virtually all feeding occurred during daylight hours. In a study of diving ducks in the southeastern United States, buffleheads, lesser scaup, and ring-necked ducks fed more during the day than at night. Research has found that in many areas of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, mallards spend much of the day feeding in flooded timber and roost elsewhere at night. Mottled ducks spend more time feeding at night than during the day and move from deeper daytime habitats to shallower waters to feed at night.īut this doesn't mean that all waterfowl feed at night. Diving ducks on the Great Lakes, for example, take flight at dusk from open-water roosts and move to shallower near-shore areas to feed during the night. While there are no absolutes regarding the daily activities of waterfowl, research has revealed a variety of nocturnal feeding behaviors in ducks. Movement from daytime loafing sites to nocturnal feeding locations is common in many waterfowl species, with daily weather and other environmental factors influencing how much waterfowl feed at night. And studies confirm that during fall and winter waterfowl spend much of their time feeding. Obviously, these are clear signs that waterfowl were feeding in the marsh at least part of the night. When I boat into a duck marsh in the fall, the water often looks like chocolate milk covered with the leaves and root material of various aquatic plants. At night, the closed canopy of flooded willows shielded the birds from heat loss as well as avian predators like great horned owls. Studies conducted in the Mississippi River floodplain showed that, at the same temperature, flooded willow wetlands with dense woody cover provided a more favorable microclimate for roosting ducks than flooded corn or deep-water habitats. On cloudy nights, differences in heat loss are less pronounced among different habitat types. Energy costs to waterfowl are highest on clear nights when heat loss is greatest in open habitats. Habitat selection is especially important for waterfowl during extended periods of unfavorable weather when even big ducks like mallards and black ducks have to rely on stored fat reserves to survive. By moving among a variety of different loafing and roosting sites, the birds can maximize their energy savings under different weather conditions and at different times of day. ![]() At night, waterfowl often roost in more sheltered habitats where the birds can conserve body heat and save energy. On warm, sunny days, for example, ducks and geese will loaf in open areas where they can warm themselves in the sun. The birds select loafing and roosting sites based on the temperature, humidity, wind speed, and sky conditions. ![]() Waterfowl spend many hours a day loafing, sleeping, and performing basic maintenance and comfort movements like preening and stretching. And ducks and geese often make these local shifts in distribution at night. Being highly mobile, waterfowl respond quickly to changes in their environment by moving from one habitat to the next. On migration and wintering areas, the daily activity of ducks and geese is influenced by the birds' energy demands, weather and habitat conditions, and disturbance from hunters or natural predators. ![]() These nocturnal migrations often explain why a marsh can be void of waterfowl one afternoon and then teeming with birds the next morning.īut waterfowl also make shorter, local movements at night. The result can be an impressive increase in local waterfowl numbers overnight. Studies indicate that migratory movements intensify shortly after sunset, peak in the middle of the night, and decline thereafter. Most waterfowl migrations occur at night. These mysteries raise questions like "where were the birds yesterday, when did they arrive, and what were they doing all night?" Migrations and Local Movements With the frequent whistling wings of ducks overhead, the incessant clucking of coots, and the din of migrating snow geesenot to mention the muskrat on the bow of the boat eating a cattail tuberI found the marsh to be quite an active place at night.Īnd on many occasions, I've left a marsh late in the day with hardly a duck in sight only to return to the same spot early the next morning and flush what seemed like half the flyway's birds ahead of me. But having spent a few nights trying to sleep in a duck boat, I can assure you this isn't the case. You'd think a marsh would be a serene and peaceful place after dark.
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