duck migration/resident duck question.

L

lee kent

Member
Ok...this may seem stupid but do all species of ducks set up residence in suitable habitat? I ask because I was working at a customers home today and he has a large swamp with lots of vegetation in it. He also has automatic feeders for his domestic mallards. I was shocked to see over a dozen gwt as well as a dozen ringneck. I would have thought these birds would have been long gone. The landowner said the teal showed up in february and never left, and the ringneck go and come. I have never seen this and thought it strange. He said the teal had little ones but predators got them all.
 
Sounds like he needs to take care of that predator problem.

I've got a similar scenario in my back yard. I shoot or trap every coon I can. Fox and coyotes aren't a problem any more! If he's got big bass or pike in there, it will help to thin them out as well.

So far this season, I haven't seen any loss of ducklings or goslings.

Regards,

Todd
 
Thats pretty darn unusual for our neck of the woods, especially for the ringers to be this far south.
 
This thread reminded me of a small pond I used to bass fish every spring.
One day I pull up to drop the boat in and there is a hen mallard with 8 bitties behind her.
2-3 days later I come back and here comes this hen with 5 bitties in tow behind her.
I don't get back there for a week and here she comes with her 2 bitties behind her.
On my next trip to the pond, I saw no ducks.
 
I am wondering if they will hang around all summer. They have already started to loose most of their fall colors. I have permission to hunt this swamp but will pass if they stay all summer.
 
Never seen GWT in the marsh in the summer, but BWT do nest in South Louisiana. We see them every year in the freshwater marsh. Lots of them with little ducklings. They are out of there sometime in July though and we don't see them again until September. Same thing with purple martins for some reason. They nest down here, have a brood, and get out before it really gets hot. Then we see them again for a few days in mid fall, staging in large numbers before they head for Argentina.

Ed.
 
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