Nesting takes place on the ground near the water’s edge. Natural nests tend to be in overhanging grass and made from anything the female can reach from her indentation of the earth. Female mallards will not carry material from anywhere else to their nest. Interestingly, mallards accept artificial nesting structures, such as homemade nests from homeowners and farmers. Mallard females lay 1-13 eggs 1-2 times each year. Mallards upend in shallow water, feed from the surface, and sometimes dive. They also graze on dry land, and forage for food in fields and woodland. Fish is the primary food source for red-breasted mergansers. They need to eat 15-20 fish per day, which means they dive underwater 250-300 times and forage for 4-5 hours! The female is chocolate brown with paler flanks, and white underparts, and the crest is shorter. She also may have white patches around the base of the bill. The male in eclipse plumage looks like the female. The female is brown with dark streaks and brown ‘V’ shapes on the flanks. The tail is white, and the wings have the blue and white patches like the male. The head is grey with fine stripes, and the bill is brown with orange or yellow marks.

The BTO Ringing Scheme is funded by a partnership of the British Trust for Ornithology, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (on behalf of: Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and NatureScot and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Northern Ireland)), The National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland) and the ringers themselves. The Nest Record Scheme is funded by the BTO and JNCC. The female has grey-brown to tawny barred and spotted plumage, with a white belly, and plain flanks. The head is grey with a dark smudge behind the eye.Possibly, birds have an internal navigation system that allows their bodies to follow the same path each year. It is also possible that birds recognize the same areas and landmarks each year when migrating. Another theory is that a bird’s beak will lead the way in migration, finding its way with smell. Redheads eat aquatic plants, pondweed, and grass. They also like to munch on snails, zebra mussels, and mayflies. The cotton pygmy goose nests in tree holes, like hollowed-out trunks, during the dry season. They swim in freshwater lakes, paddy fields, and irrigation tanks. Teals feed by upending, dabbling, or grazing. It may also submerge its head completely, and occasionally dives. Nesting happens on cliff ledges in small nooks and crannies, along with holes in trees. Occasionally, a nest is on the ground.

The female is pale brown with streaks overall and a darker belly, dark eyes, and a brown to orange bill. She has a blue wing patch. In eclipse plumage, the male is similar to the female but with redder plumage, and a grey head with a white crescent on the face. Goldeneyes feed mainly by diving up to depths of 4 m. They will occasionally dabble and upend in shallow water although this is usually only practised by juveniles. The female garganey is like the male in eclipse plumage but paler. There is an obvious white spot near the bill. The female pintail is similar to the male in eclipse plumage with streaks and a lacey pattern. The head is plain, while the bill and legs are grey. Areas or counties (Ireland) in which the greatest number of individuals of each species were ringed in the current yearShovelers feed by swimming slowly across water, skimming the surface from side to side with its bill. It sometimes submerges its head. They often feed in groups, swimming in circles to churn up the water and bring food to the surface. Robinson, R.A., Leech, D.I. & Clark, J.A. (2023) The Online Demography Report: bird ringing and nest recording in Britain & Ireland in 2022. BTO, Thetford ( http://www.bto.org/ringing-report, created on 21-September-2023) Other Features: Blue-winged teals prefer wetlands and areas such as shallow marshes, flooded ditches, and ponds. Females lay an average of 10 eggs each year and nest in tall grasses.

Garganeys rarely updend completely when feeding and tend to dip just their head or skim the surface of the water with their bill. Whether in the tundras of Canada or California, American Wigeons prefer wet meadows, wetlands, and flooded pastures for their foraging of grasses and sedges. Blue-winged Teal In eclipse plumage, the male is similar to the female but rustier coloured, and with a dark green cap and eyestripe, and yellow bill.

PERCHING DUCKS

Eurasian Wigeons breed in shallow wetlands and freshwater marshes, ponds, and lakes, surrounded by forests and tundras. Females lay an average of 7-10 eggs, preferring to nest on the ground of said forest or tundra. European longevity records (collated by EURING) - note these estimate the time the bird has been alive The female is mottled brown overall with a white streak by the tail. The green stripe on the wing is less bright, and the bill is grey with a pink base. The male in eclipse plumage resembles the female.

Hens lay and incubate the eggs, some drakes will guard their nest and chase away predators. Other drakes will not participate in any of the nesting processes and will instead continue migrating to their molting locations. Eiders feed by diving, dipping, and up-ending often in shallow water, foraging for molluscs, crustaceans, and sometimes fish. They can also swim underwater. The male’s haunting call carries far, while the female produces a series of guttural sounds during breeding season. The female is similar to the male in eclipse plumage and very similar to the female mallard. The head is grey and the tail is dull. The bill has orange sides, and the legs are orange.

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The female is grey with brown mottles with a darker brown breast, and rump. The head his pale, dull brown with a white eyering and white around the bill and throat. The bill is grey with a pale central band. Males in eclipse plumage is like the female but has a redder head and red eyes. In the Prairie Pothole Region, you can find the blue-winged teals in their breeding grounds in central North America. While interesting, Blue-winged teals migrate to Florida, Mexico, Central, and South America. Both drakes and hens have rounded compact heads. Drakes are easily identifiable by a green stripe above and behind their eye with a white crown. Males also have a distinctive matching green line on their wings when in flight. Hens have dark smudges around their eyes. You may also like: Meet the 23 Different Types of Foxes and Where to Find Them: Description, Images, and More! Navigation during Migration