WHERE ARE ALL THE DUCKS?

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

https://www.instagram.com/p/BAM2EKCjykO/

As our local ponds begin to freeze, look for diving ducks along the sea’s edge. They are hunting for mollusks, crustaceans, snails, shrimp, and other small creatures. 

Canvasback and Ring-necked Duck Niles Pond ©Kim Smith 2016

Niles Pond Canvasback Duck with Male and Female Ring-necked Ducks

I haven’t seen the Canvasback or Ring-necked Ducks since Niles Pond started to freeze on Monday. Only partially frozen in some areas and with the warmer weekend temperatures predicted, I hope they’ll return soon!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BAS0FlODyjg/

Interesting short video of eiders diving for mollusks in the Arctic ~

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Published by Kimsmithdesigns

Documentary filmmaker, photographer, landscape designer, author, and illustrator. "Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly" currently airing on PBS. Current film projects include Piping Plovers, Gloucester's Feast of St. Joseph, and Saint Peter's Fiesta. Visit my websites for more information about film and design projects at kimsmithdesigns.com, monarchbutterflyfilm.com, and pipingploverproject.org. Author/illustrator "Oh Garden of Fresh Possibilities! Notes from a Gloucester Garden."

2 thoughts on “WHERE ARE ALL THE DUCKS?”

  1. Hi Kim, I watched the video of the Eider diving to the bottom and returning to the surface with the prize mollusk. It was attempting to swallow it whole. Are ducks capable of dissolving the shells in the digestion process?

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    1. I wondered that too Allen and learned that they do consume shellfish whole! Ducks have one stomach divided into two sections. Contractions move the mollusk (mussel in this case) back and forth between the glandular enzyme section and the muscular grinding section (gizzard), quickly digesting the meat and shell.

      The more I learn about Eiders, the more interesting!

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