SU0013451 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Waterfowl Habitat Requirements Wintering Birds. Feeding requirements for ducks and geese vary by species, season, sex and availability. While some species (mallards and Canada geese) will feed in dry fields, most prefer to forage in shallow water depths. Optimal foraging depths for most puddle ducks range from 1 to 16 inches of water (Fig. 2). Divers are capable of exploiting deeper waters up to four feet, and are common on both lakes when they are fully flooded. Divers are adapted to large bodies of open water(less than 36 inches deep). Mallards, teals, and wood ducks use habitats with denser vegetation. Pintails make use of shallow (6-10-inch deep), open water. Seeds (from watergrass, sprangletop, smartweed, pigweed, and nutsedge) are selected by most puddle ducks and are high in nutrition for lipids and certain important amino acids. Other plants, such as spike rush also provide important browse or tubers. Some waterfowl (wigeons, geese, and coots) are grazers preferring new green vegetative growth. Freshly sprouting winter grasses and forbs in shallow water and uplands surrounding a wetland are all excellent foods for these birds. Invertebrates (insects, snails, worms) are important foods for ducks year-round, but particularly during the late winter-early spring period, when protein is needed for feather development during body molt and by females prior to egg- laying. Invertebrates are gleaned from water,vegetation and the soil. Nesting Birds. Breeding waterfowl have three primary habitat needs: 1) a breeding pair territory -- space, high protein food source and a resting or loafing site; 2) nest site -- well vegetated upland area secure from flooding, disturbance and predators; and 3) brood rearing area-- wetland areas that seldom go dry, are highly interspersed with vegetation Buckeye Ranch Resource Plan (November, 1993) 182