The Green-winged Teal - A Speedy Waterfowl
The smallest North American dabbling duck is the Green-winged Teal. It is also speedy with the fastest Green-winged Teal recorded at 60 miles per hour! Mergansers and Mallards are much quicker with speeds over 100 miles per hour. (Think how fast their migration is!)
In Anguilla I usually find them feeding happily among resident species or napping on the pond shores.
Birds of the World gives us the following overview of the species:
“The Green-winged Teal is North America's smallest dabbling duck. Unlike many of this continent's other dabblers, this one does not breed extensively in the prairie pothole region of the central continent. Instead it is most abundant in river deltas and forest wetlands of Canada and Alaska, where it nests in dense cover, often in shrubs or sedges. A migrant along all the major flyways, this is the second most abundant duck taken by hunters in North America. Because its breeding areas are far from human activity, however, its numbers have remained high and are even increasing.
This teal has a wide variety of courtship displays which it performs in rapid succession. Individuals form monogamous pairs for one breeding season, but paired males also attempt forced extra-pair copulations. Males desert females during incubation, so the female must provide all incubation and parental care. On its wintering grounds this species often congregates in large flocks and may move from region to region if conditions are unfavorable. In some regions, it forages day and night. Throughout its range, insect larvae plus the seeds of grasses and sedges make up the bulk of its diet.”
Very little information is provided about their migratory habits in our part of the world. Birds of the World shares this tidbit.
“Most individuals migrating to wintering grounds in eastern states use Atlantic Flyway (along Atlantic Coast). These individuals typically originate in e. Canada. Small numbers of individuals wintering in the east originate in the central provinces of Canada (Bellrose Bellrose 1968, Bellrose 1976a).”
Local literature suggests that a few birds may be seen from October to March.
With a diet that includes: “Seeds of sedges, grasses, and aquatic vegetation; aquatic insects and larvae, molluscs, crustaceans,” East End and Forest Bay Ponds appear to be favored locations. I can’t rule out Caul’s Pond as that is a site frequented by various duck species.
Females and juveniles are normally accompanied by their male counterparts. Keep an eye out for the bright green and cinnamon head.
Fascinating little ducks, I had no idea they're so fast! 60 miles per hour--such speed for a small, handsome duck.
Thank you Jackie