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Signs of spring, diving dabblers and duck courtship



Hi Carolinabirders,

On Tue, 26 Feb 2002, Mike Skakuj wrote:
>
> There is one nice duck - Long-tailed Duck known here as Oldsquaw (why old?)

Oooo, don't even discuss the "O" word! Too many e-mail flame wars have
broken out over that duck's name...

> which part of its courtship display is group diving.

As long as people are discussing duck courtship, now's probably a good
time to see Bufflehead going at it. The settling ponds at the Poplar Point
water treatment facility are usually a good place to observe this, if you
approach with care to not flush the ducks. Common displays include short
flights, rearing back and snapping the wings, ducking the head underwater,
and frenetically head-bobbing, and often a few of these actions in
combination. For directions to and more details about the site, see
http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/tbg/ppwwp.html

> That (diving) is not so rare among dabbling ducks. Many species even
> "large and light" may dive as a part of avoiding predator behavior.

I, too, have seen Mallards submerging; I think the predator they were
avoiding was me!

> By the way, what is here a "sign of spring". In central Europe (Poland)
> it is usually Skylark and Lapwing. Don't tell me that is Fishcrow! I
> would expect some more... handsome species.

Sorry Mike, but the Fish Crow probably is the first harbinger of spring in
the Piedmont region of North Carolina (they are around all winter on the
coastal plain). For a more handsome (but slightly later) harbinger, how
about Osprey; they are very rare in the winter on the Piedmont, but fairly
regular around large lakes and rivers starting in early March. Purple
Martins and other swallows come along later in March, followed by
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and early warblers like Yellow-throated and
Northern Parula toward the end of the month. The bulk of the warblers and
vireos arrive in April; only a few species hold off for May. For more
details on the expected arrival times/abundances at various times of the
year for birds in the Triangle and adjacent areas, see the Triangle Bird
Checklist at
http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/chbc/trichk2000.pdf

Good birding,

Josh


Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Biology (Zoology, R.I.P.)

jsr6@duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/