April 08, 1962 - MallardsExclusive Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven
Focus on Nature
IF we have a pair of muskrats
down in our marsh that the whole
family has gootten to know. Late-
ly during these wonderful spring
days, we have gone down and
watched a pair of them basking
in the sun as they busily chewed
away on some morsel. It seems
almost as if they were thawing
out after the cold, wet February
we had.
While we were there one day, a
pair of mallard ducks swam maj-
estically by. These reminded me
of. the very interesting and un-
usual period ducks enter during
this time of the year. This period
I refer to is when the male ducks
lose their gaudy feathers and go
into what is called the "eclipse
period." But I am getting ahead
of my story, let's start from the
beginning.
Northerly Flight
Like many ducks, the mallards
spend the winter months in the
warm sun down south. But as
soon as the first hint of spring
moves into the area, their rest-
lessness moves them northward
toward the nesting grounds. They
arrive many times even before
the retreating ire and snow has
ft. During this long, northerly
flight the drake mallards are in
continual pursuit of their favorite
hen. By the time they reach the
famous nesting grounds in south-
ern Saskatchewan, Alberta, the
Dakotas and western Minnesota,
they are pretty well paired off
for the season ahead.
Our mallards are ,probably local
ones that stay over and eke out
a living right here on Long Island
through the cold and difficult win-
ters, although some might be mal-
lards from our own Atlantic fly-
way. The great majority that
makes up 60% of the mallard
flight, however, comes up through
the Mississippi flyway and we see
none of these. .
Courtship Ritual
Like so many, the mallards per-
' form a high. and fancy ritual of
courtship before what appears to
be an uninterested female. He
will rise high out of the water to
show his beautiful rusty breast
or bow down and dip his bill into
the water or perhaps he will
throw back his head in a song-
like gesture. Meanwhile he is
busily paddling about, adding as
many antics as he possibly can
to woo his mate. Sooner or later,
she will give in and the two will
swim off in perfect contentment.
It is this contented and hand-
some couple that we see in our
creek today. The courtship is over
and the nesting sight is now on
the agenda. The nest is usually
on the ground, relatively close to
water. Yet there are many in-
stances where this bird has nest-
ed above ground, in hay stacks,
in abandoned hawk nests in trees,
with the classic example of non-
conformity being a banded duck
that returned year after year to
nest on a Dakota barn roof.
Nest Is Work of Art
As the hen builds her nest, the
drake usually is close at hand
and each day as a new egg is
added, he will fly by quietly talk-
ing to the unforeseen miracle be-
low. Uusally a clutch of 6 - 15
eggs is laid and by the end of the
laying period, the nest that start-
ed out as a mere depression in
the grass has been transformed
into a work of art. To finish it
off, the "nuptial down ", plucked
from the hen herself, forms an
insulated liner. Anyone who has
ever seen one of these nests and
has felt the warmth- and softness
can vouch for its artistry and
practicability.
The nest and hen are so well
camouflaged in the grass that the
average person would pass them
by, and yet I am afraid it does
not go unseen by the skillfull
crow, the prowling raccoon, and
• host of other robbers who reap
• heavy toll on nesting ducks
each year.
After the eggs are laid, and the
hatch comes off, the drake pays
little attention to the hen or any
of her brood. As a matter of fact,
he retreats to the seclusion of
the larger marshes where he
joins his fellow brethren in the
strange and mystical "eclipse
molt" I spoke of earlier.
Complete Molt
This molt is complete and even
the large primary, flight feathers
are replaced, leaving the drake
quite flightless during this trans-
ition period. It is at this time he
is most vulnerable and for this
reason seeks the shelter of the
secluded marshlands.
The new coat that replaces the
familiar white- ringed neck, green
head, rusty breast and handsome
gray coat is a conglomeration of
subdued and mottled colors that
help him blend into his secluded
surroundings. It is this camou-
flage that Nature has given him
that protects him most durin
by Paul Stoutenburgh
this dangerous period. The female
does not go through an eclipse
molt but rather changes gradually
during the winter and spring.
While we're on the subject of
color, one more fact of interest
is that the green head of the
handsome drake is not green at
all but rather a brownish - black.
It only seems-green because there
is a thin layer of feathers that
break down the light in such a
way that it appears so. It is some-
thing like the rainbow effect we
see on the water whenever oil is
spilled. Here it is not true pig-
ment but rather refracted light.
Feed in Shallow Water
The mallards, like the black
ducks, are dabblers or puddle
ducks and do not dive for their
food like the mergansers, scaups,
etc. Their haunts are always the
shallow water where they can
"tip up" and scan the bottom for
shellfish, snails, seeds, plants, etc.
Generally speaking, they will eat
just about anything they can get,
depending on their location.
If they are in the grain belt,
their diet will be almost exclu-
sively corn and wheat and if they
should be in our muddy creeks
during the winter months their
diet would consist of small soft
clams, snails, etc. It is difficult
to believe that a'duck can digest
these mollusks and yet their
powerful gizzard makes short
work of them.
Not being a diving duck with
its legs set far back, the mallard
is more balanced and therefore
is equally at home on water or
land. I'm told that out west where
these ducks feed in the fields for
considerable periods of time, they
actually create callouses on their
feet from walking.
It is a shame indeed that we
do not have more of the old -
fashioned corn, tye and wheat
fields that are, so attractive: to
this type of duck, but like so
many things that one time were
plentiful, we must now content
ourselves with an occasional gem
that somehow has outsmarted,
out- maneuvered, and out -flown its
enemies. Let's hope the mallard
duck will always be in this spec-
ial class.
FIELD OBSERVATIONS:
L R Ernest reports:
Shinnecock Hills -,March 26
Pine Siskins (8)
Shinnecock - March 26
North Sea - March 27
Osprey (3)
George Stonebanks report
Riverhead - March 29
Marsh Hawk (2)
Paul Stoutenburgh reports:
Cutchogue - April 1
Tree Swallow
Roy Latham reports:
Orient — March 19
Longspur
Orient — March 21
Osprey (2)
Orient — March 24
Canada Geese (75)
Orient — March 25
Snow Owl (3)
Orient — March 26
Mourning Dove (2)
Orient — March 27
Flicker
Orient — March 31
Killdeer
Dennis Puleston reports:
Brookhaven — March 29
Hermit Thrush
Snow Geese (25)
Brookhaven — March 31
Snow Geese (8)
Tree Swallow (10)
Phoebe (3)
Pine Warbler (3)
Greater Yellow -legs (2)
Montauk — April 2
Glaucous Gull
Iceland Gull
Ipswich Sparrow (2)
Bluebird
Mecox — April 2