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WWWW ell adapted to their lives on thewater, these birds have broad,

flattened bills that allow them to feed onplants and animals in the water. Their wide-set legs and webbed feet make themexcellent swimmers, and their waterproofplumage and thick layers of down featherskeep them warm in cold weather.

Numerous species of waterfowl visit ormake New York State their home, withmore than 30 different waterfowl speciescommonly seen here. Watching andidentifying the various species can bean entertaining and sometimes trickytask. While both sexes of swans andgeese look alike, in most species ofducks, the males (drakes) and females

(hens) look different from each other.However, in the summer and early fallyou may see ducks that are undergoingtheir annual molt when the males willlack their bright breeding plumage andresemble the more dull-colored females.With so much variation, it can be difficultto tell one species from another. Add tothat the fact that often you see the birdsas they are quickly flying by, making anaccurate identification quite challenging.Fortunately, there are a number of cluesto look for that make it easier to identifythe waterfowl you see. The informationprovided in this guide will aid you in rec-ognizing these birds.

WWWWaterfowl are birds that live on ornear the water and include wildducks, geese and swans.

Habitat — First, consider whereyou see the waterfowl. Are they in alarge open body of water (like a riveror lake), on a small pond or marsh,or feeding in crop fields?

Size and Shape — Pay closeattention to the size andthe shape of the birds.For example, swansand geese are muchlarger than ducks,and mallards are

larger than teal.

Sound — Do you hearthem? Not all geesehonk — some cackle,yelp or croak. And not allducks quack — some whistle, growl or squeal.

Colors — Notice the colors you seeon the birds, particularly the

head and wings. Eachspecies has its own

unique markings.

Flight Pattern —Do the birds fly in aparticular pattern?Are they in a single,straight line close tothe water; in V's;or in loose flock formations?

What to look for:

speculum(puddle duck)

speculum(diving duck)

Canada Geese-V-formation

Mergansers-straight line,close to water

Pintails - looseflock formation

Identifying NYS WaterfowlThe best way to become better at identifying waterfowl is to

practice seeing them in their own environment. Knowing thehabitat preferences, food habits, molting schedules, and flighthabits for various species makes it easier to locate and identifythem. Learn what waterfowl species are most common in your

area and what time of year they are likely to occur. Of themore than 30 species regularly seen in NY, only seven are likely to be seen during the summer. So, grab your binoculars,field guide, and your family and head down to your local river,bay, or marsh and have fun getting to know your waterfowl.

Ducks: There are two basic types of ducks — puddle(or dabbling) ducks and diving ducks.Puddle Ducks — Puddle ducks are commonly found inshallow marshes or small rivers. They have colored wingpatches (speculum) that are usually iridescent. They pre-fer to feed on or just below the surface of the water bydabbling or tipping up with their rump pointing up. Theywalk well on land and are often seen feeding in croplands.They sit high with their tail out of the water and can takeoff directly from the water to flight. Puddle ducks includemallards, black ducks, wood ducks, teal and pintails.Diving Ducks — Diving ducks are usually found on largerbodies of water. Diving ducks are better at diving underthe water than puddle ducks. Their wing patches are usu-ally dull white or grey colored. Their legs are positioned farback on their body and their larger feet help make thembetter underwater swimmers. However, the position oftheir legs makes it more difficult for them to walk on land

so you will seldom see them feeding in farm fields or rest-ing on shore. Most diving ducks need to run along the sur-face of the water to gain speed for flight. Diving ducksinclude scaup, canvasback, redhead, goldeneye, buffle-head, mergansers, and scoters.

Geese and Swans: Geese and swans are distin-guished from other waterfowl by their large size. Malesand females look alike.Geese — Geese are larger, heavier, and have longer necksthan ducks. During migration times, you may see largeflocks (sometimes numbering in the thousands) flying in aline or in V-shaped formations in order to reduce wind resist-ance. Geese include Canada geese, snow geese, and brant.Swans — Swans are the largest of all waterfowl and havemuch longer necks than geese. Adults of these threespecies are completely white. Swans you may see in NYSinclude mute swans, tundra swans, and trumpeter swans.

Major Groups of Waterfowl

If you know where, when and how to look for waterfowlyou will see more birds. Here are a few guidelines forsuccessfully viewing waterfowl:• Look for waterfowl in ponds, lakes, streams, marshes

and bays.• Watch for waterfowl during their spring and fall migra-

tions. Early morning or evenings are the best times ofthe day to view these birds as they fly off and land onthe water.

• Move slowly and quietly. Waterfowl see colors verywell, so wear a hat and clothing that blends in withyour surroundings. Resist the urge to look up at the

sky exposing your face and neck, instead move youreyes and head slowly.

• The use of man-made or natural blinds (vegetation) willhelp keep you concealed and improve your chances ofseeing more birds.

• Watch and listen carefully for movement in the air,water and surrounding vegetation.

• Bring your field guide and binoculars to help you identifybirds and their calls.

Finally, just relax and enjoy waterfowl watching. Soonyou’ll know how to identify many of New York’s waterfowl.

Viewing Waterfowl Edward Jakubowski

Puddle DucksMallards are the most common duck year-round inNY, found in a wide variety of habitats, including urbanpark ponds. The drake has a metallic green head with awhite neck ring,chestnut-col-ored chest,and white tailwith blackcurled centraltail feathers.

Thehen is a mottled brown color.

The wings of both the drake and hen havea violet metallic speculum bordered by two

white bars. Mallards usually fly in smallflocks. Drakes make a low "kwek" or "yeeb"

sound. The hens make the well-known loud quack.

Black Ducks are similar in size to the mallard, butthey are darker overall and at a distance look black. Thedrake and hen are identical with the head and neck alighter brown. Adark streak

runs throughthe eye fromthe billacross thecheek. Theunderside of

their wings arewhite and thecontrast betweenthe white on thewings and dark

body is a good iden-tification clue when seeing the birds in flight. Black duckwings have a violet-blue speculum and lack the twowhite bars present on the mallard's wings. Adults makesounds similar to mallards.

Wood Ducks have a crested head, broad wings and rectangular tail. The drake is beautifully colored with an

iridescent greenand purplehead, back,wings andtail. Thedrake's crestis muchmore pro-nounced than

the hen's. The hen is dark brown with tan and greysides and has a white teardrop-shaped ring around hereye. Drakes make a loud "whoo-wett" sound when dis-tressed and a high-pitched whistle in courtship. Hensmake a squeeling "crrek-crrek" sound.

Blue-Winged Teal are easy to identify by their smallsize and erratic flight. Both drakes and hens have slate-

blue wing patches and a green speculum. Drakeshave a white crescent on each side of their

face. The hen lacksthe facial crescentand is a mottledbrown color. Drakesmake whistling"peep" sounds. Hens

make a faint quack.

Green-Winged Teal are small pigeon-sized ducks.Both drakes and hens have a green speculum. The drakehas a rusty-coloredhead and a brightgreen slash acrossthe eye. A whitevertical bar sepa-rates the buff-col-

ored chest fromthe grey

backand sides.

The hen isa mottled

brown color.Drakes make

short whistle and peeping sounds. Hens make ahigh-pitched quack.

Pintails (Sprig ) are large, mallard-sized ducks andcan be easily identified by their long, pointed tail feath-

ers and long, slender profile in flight. The drakehas a chocolate brown head with a

white stripe running up bothsides of its neck. His throat,

chest and belly are white. Thehen's long, slender shape is

not as distinct as the drake's, but she

A Sampler of New York’s Waterfowl Species

Mike Anich

Eric Dresser

Edward Jakubowski

Deanne C. Cunningham

still has a longer tail than most ducks. The hen is a mot-tled brown color. Drakes make a double tone "prrip,prrip" whistle. Hensmake low quacks.

Diving DucksScaup (bluebill, broadbill) are often seen in large groups (called rafts) on large bodies of water. Both drakes and hens have a blue-grey bill with a blacktip and have a broad white stripe on the trailing edge of the wing.

The Lesser Scaup is themost common species ofdiving duck. The drake'shead has a purplish-blacksheen and often appearsangular. The drake'sneck, head,chest andrump areblack and thesides and under-sides are pale grey towhite. The hen is darkbrown with whitish under-sides. She has a distinctivewhite patch at the base of herbill. The wings of both the drake and the hen are char-coal brown with a long white patch or stripe runningdown the trailing edge of the wing. Drakes make a low,single note whistle or a loud quack. Hens make purringor low growling sounds.

Greater Scaup are slightly larger than the lesserscaup and are very

similar in appear-ance. The drake'shead has a green-ish-black sheenand is morerounded in shape.The wings are

similar to the lesserscaup's, but the coloration is more brown

and the white wing patch or stripe is longer. Drakesmake a "scaup, scaup" sound. Hens are usually silent.

The Canvasback is the fastest flying duck. It is easilyidentified by its "doorstop" shaped head. The drake'shead is red with a

long, black bill. It has a greyish-whiteback and sides. The hen is buff-coloredwith a rusty-brown head and chest, and

dusky-grey back. Canvasbacks usually shift from wavinglines to temporary V's in flight. Drakes make a lowcroak, peep and even growl. Hens quack.

The Redhead has a more rounded head and shorterbill than the canvas-back. The drake hasa reddish head, butis slightly

smaller and has a darker back andsides. The bill is blue-grey with a nar-

row white ring located behind theblack tip. The hen has a reddish-

brown head and breast with drabbrown back and sides. Drakes "purr" and make a catlike"meow" sound. Hens make a high, loud "squak" and asoft growling sound.

The CommonGoldeneye(Whistler ) is named forits gold-colored eye. The

drake’shead is

blackwith a

greenishsheen and has a white round spot in front

of the eye. A row of black and whitefeathers separate the black back and rumpfrom the white chest and undersides. The

hen's head is dark brown with no facial spot. Her sidesand back are greyish-brown with a white chest. Thewings of the common goldeneye whistle in flight.Drakes make a nasal double-note "pee-ik" sound. Hensmake a low quack.

The Bufflehead (Butterball) is a very small duckwith a rounded shape. The drake's head is black with agreenish-purplesheen and has a

white

wedge-shapedpatch behind theeye. The hen's head is dark brown with a small whitepatch behind the eye. Her back is dark brown with grey-ish sides and a white belly. They are usually silent, butdrakes make a hoarse "squeek" sound and hens make aharsh quack.

Mergansers are streamlined-shaped ducks with longpointed bills with saw-edge mandibles used for graspingfish. They are often seen on rivers and large streams.Mergansers usually fly in a single straight line close tothe water.

The Common Merganser drakehas a dark green head with no

crest, a black backand white

sides and belly.The hen has a

brown crestedhead. Her back, chest and sides are grey and her bellyis white. Drakes make low "croak" sounds and hensmake a harsh, gutteral sound.

The Red-Breasted Merganser drake has a crest-ed green head, a reddish-brown chest, ablack back and awhite belly. Thehen has a less pronounced crestand reddish-brown head. Theyare usually silent,but make ahoarse "croak" sound.These birds are prima-rily seen on coastalwaters in winter.

The Hooded Merganser is the smallest of themergansers. The drake has a pro-

nounced fan-shaped, black and whitecrest. His back is black with white

stripes with brown-ish sides. The henhas a reddish-brown crestedhead and darkback. They makelow grunting orcroaking sounds.

Scoters are sea ducks commonly seen in coastalwaters and around the Great Lakes.

The White-Winged Scoter (Sea coot)is the most numerous of the scoters in NYS.

The drake is all black except thewhite wing patch and the small

white crescent around the eye. Hisorange-yellow bill is knobbed

and has a reddish tip. Thehen is slightly lighter in color

and has a smaller whitespeculum. She has tan-colored cheek patchesand a greyish bill with noknob. They fly in a stringyline or V-formation, andmake bell-like whistlesounds.

Geese and SwansCanada Geese are proba-bly the most easily recog-nized waterfowl in NYS. Theirlarge size, black neck andhead with white cheekpatches extending under thethroat, and brownish-greybody make them easy toidentify. They fly in long strings in V-formation. Canadageese make a loud, deep "honking" sound.

Most Adult Snow Geese have an all white body andblack wing tips. Young often have an ashy-gray appear-ance, and some adults, called “blue geese,” have verydark bodies with just a white head. Snow geese have ashorter neck than swans.Very noisy birds, their call isa shrill honk, higher-pitchedthan the Canada goose.

Edward Jakubowski

Edward Jakubowski

Edward Jakubowski

Edward Jakubowski

• shallow marshesand rivers

• colored, irides-cent wing patch

• legs near middle of body, walks well on land• feeds on or just below water surface by

tipping or dabbling• most feed primarily on aquatic vegetation• sits high with tail out of water• larger wings, slower wingbeat• can take right off and fly from water

• large lakes,rivers, bays

• white, grey,and black wingpatch

• legs farther back on body, prefers to stayin water

• dives beneath the surface to feed• most feed on fish and invertebrates• sits lower with tail close to water• smaller wings, shorter, faster wingbeat• runs on water to gain speed for take-off

General Characteristics of Puddle and Diving Ducks

The Tundra Swan (Whistling ) has an allwhite body, black feet, and a small yellow spotat the base of its black bill. Tundra Swans make

high-pitchedcooingsounds.

Trumpeter Swan

Mute Swan

Tundra Swan

Canada Goose

Snow Goose (blue phase)

SnowGoose(whitephase)

PuddleDucks

DivingDucks

The Trumpeter Swan is slightlylarger than the Tundra Swan and has anall black bill. Its name comes from thebird’s distinctive loud, brassy voice. Thefirst pair of recently-recorded nestingtrumpeter swans in NYS was found in1996.

The Mute Swan is probablythe most familiar swan in NYSwith its S-shaped curved neck. Itwas an import to North Americafrom Europe, but has establishedbreeding populations. Adultshave an orange bill with a blackknob on the forehead, and blackfeet. They will make grunting orwheezing noises.

Eric Dresser

Edward Jakubowski

John Huggard

Donna Aitkenhead

Waterfowl Identification CourseIncluded in DEC Waterfowl Hunter

Education CourseThe DEC waterfowl hunter education course is a great

course for both hunters and non-hunters alike becauseit includes a complete course in waterfowl identification.The three-hour (minimum) course teaches you aboutwaterfowl life history, habits, and key features to look forto identify birds in the field, in addition to other informa-tion that hunters will find helpful.

Upon successful completion of the course, partici-pants receive a DEC certificate of completion. Thecourse is not required for hunting waterfowl in general.However, a few public waterfowl hunting areas that havelimited access require hunters to pass a waterfowl iden-tification course, or may give preference to those withcourse certificates. State and federal agencies with suchlimitations let hunters know about this when they applyfor area hunting permits.

For information about courses, contact the SportsmanEducation Coordinator at your DEC Regional Office, orthe Sportsman Education Program at 50 Wolf Road,Albany, N.Y. 12233-4800, or call 1-888-HUNT ED2.Course listings are also available on DEC's website atwww.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/edhunt.htm

Puddle ducks (9)___ mallard___ black duck___ wood duck___ pintail___ blue-winged teal___ green-winged teal___ American wigeon___ shoveler___ gadwall

Mergansers (3)___ hooded___ red-breasted___ common

Geese and Swans (6)___ Canada goose___ brant___ snow goose___ tundra swan___ mute swan___ trumpeter swanDivers (8)___ canvasback___ redhead___ ring-necked duck___ greater scaup___ lesser scaup___ common goldeneye___ ruddy duck___ bufflehead

Sea Ducks (7)___ white-winged scoter___ surf scoter___ black scoter___ common eider___ king eider___ oldsquaw___ harlequin duck

NYS Waterfowl Checklist

New York Migratory Bird Print and Stamp Program

In 1985, New York developed the Migratory Bird Printand Stamp Program, a revenue generating program toaddress the rapid decline in wetland habitat triggered bychanges in land use practices. Through the sale of col-lector prints, posters, pins and stamps, more than $2.5million has been generated to acquire and manage wet-lands in New York and Canada. Preservation of thesehabitats provides many waterfowl species withimproved nesting, feeding and resting areas, while alsoenhancing opportunities for wildlife photography andobservation.For further information regarding the program visit our website atwww.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/wildlife/migrbird/index.html or call 1-800-325-2370.

Artwork by Jean Gawalt, text by Cheryl O’Brien

1999 Migratory Bird Print and Stamp"Hudson River Heritage" by Richard Clifton