The little Bufflehead “sits high in the water.”
Bobbing up and down like a yellow rubber duckie in the bathtub — Richard Crossley
The month of March was almost like a repeat of February, with very cold temperatures and snow off and on.
Some birders reported seeing several species of ducks in open water areas, including some good spots at Ridgway State Park at the marina and bay view. One small duck that caught the attention of birders was the Bufflehead, who was spotted at Ridgway State Park bobbing along in the reservoir. This duck is easy to spot – he stands out with his striking black and white plumage. He is glossy black on the top part of his body, with white coloring below and he has a large white patch on the side of his head. A steep forehead and short blue-gray bill completes this pretty duck.
The males have a somewhat puffy head shape, earning the duck its name. The female is gray and brown, with a smaller area of white on her cheek.
Buffleheads are some of the smallest diving birds, only measuring 13.5 inches long and weighing only 13 ounces.
They’re expert divers who spring forward and up a little before diving down into the water, headfirst. Their diet varies with the season, but during the winter they eat many mollusks, especially snails, small fish or any other aquatic invertebrates.
These ducks seem to like the cold weather and are not in the least bit inconvenienced by raging wind or bitter-cold weather conditions.
The Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas shows this duck lives in only a few areas of northern Colorado, usually around the west and south edges of North Park, close to the border of Wyoming.
They also breed near lakes in northern forest, often in a mix of conifers and poplars in Canada and Alaska. Sometimes we’re lucky to spot them here.
Being such a diminutive size, the female is small enough to use old nest holes from other birds, including the Flicker, or other small tree cavities.
She prefers to have these nests close to water. She may also use artificial nest boxes if they’re provided. The female Bufflehead incubates the eggs, usually a cluster of between 8 to 10, for about 30 days. The young will leave the nest only one or two days after hatching. The mother coaxes them to jump from their hole or box and leads them to water. The mother tends the young but they feed themselves.
Because these ducks are so small, they’re sometimes overlooked. But keep an eye out for the movement of these birds in the water. They sit high in the water, bobbing up and down like a yellow rubber duckie in the bathtub.
Its unique appearance has led the Bufflehead to have a list of other nicknames, including Butter Duck, Butter Ball and Buffalo-headed Duck. Whatever you choose to call them, they’re interesting to watch and help make birding fun and rewarding.
THE FOLLOWING BIRDS WERE SIGHTED IN OURAY COUNTY IN MARCH 2023:
Canada Goose, Mallard, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Greenwinged Teal, Redhead, Ringnecked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead*, Common Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Wild Turkey, Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk*, Rough-legged Hawk, Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, Killdeer*, Ring-billed Gull, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Great Horned Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Prairie Falcon*, American Kestrel, Say’s Phoebe, Steller’s Jay, Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, Black-billed Magpie, American Crow, Common Raven, Horned Lark, Mountain Chickadee, Black-capped Chickadee, Juniper Titmouse, Bushtit, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Dipper, American Robin, Townsend’s Solitaire, Mountain Bluebird, Western Bluebird, European Starling, Spotted Towhee, American Tree Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Pine Siskin, Darkeyed Junco (Oregon, Pink-sided, Slate, Dark-eyed), White-throated Sparrow*, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, American Goldfinch, Rosy-Finch (Browncapped, Gray Crowned, Black, Hepburn’s) Cassin’s Finch, House Finch, Red Crossbill*, Pine Grosbeak*, Evening Grosbeak, House Sparrow. Note: Many ducks were sighted by several people, more hawks seen, White-throated Sparrow still hanging around birder’s house.
