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Oregon's Waterfowl

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Oregon's Waterfowl Oregon's Waterfowl There is no more impressive sight in nature This movement, probably a part of the than the movement of a large flock of mother's effort to protect her young also waterfowl. And it's more than just the sight. results in the young birds learning the lay of Their arrival and departure touch the the land. An intimate knowledge of the human soul in ways that are hard to surrounding topography will be very understand. Their vibrant calls strike a important when it is time for them to find chord in us all, and we find ourselves their way back to their natal area to raise thinking, "Hurry back, hurry back." young of their own. Fossil records show that waterfowl Waterfowl tend to be migratory, nesting in appeared approximately 50 million years northern climates during the warmer months ago, slowly developing the characteristics and traveling south for the winter. Distances which now make them distinct from their traveled range up to 3,000 miles and land-based cousins. One of the most demonstrate an instinctive capacity for important of these distinctions is the navigation that staggers the human advanced stage of development of imagination. Several species of waterfowl waterfowl young when they hatch. Instead have shown the ability to alter their historic of being blind, naked and helpless like destinations or routes in response to hunting many land birds, waterfowl hatchlings pressure, environmental changes and typically arrive protected by a warm, changes in food availability. This flexibility downy covering and with their eyes open. suggests that doing what comes naturally is They are usually capable of feeding secondary to doing what comes easiest. themselves within a day of leaving the egg. Waterfowl undergo a molt or change in Waterfowl are almost always good plumage twice a year. The prenuptial or communicators. The refinement of their before breeding molt creates the brightly- communication skills is begun when the colored plumage of the males, so important youngsters make repeated calls to their in the mate selection process. Mate selection mothers, while still unhatched within the occurs upon arrival in the nesting area. eggs and the mothers talk back! Real Females, never as colorful as the males, training in communication begins upon become even more drab after the prenuptial hatching, and the resulting efficiency of molt, a color change that aids in their hiding calls helps the young birds remain within and protection of young during the nesting the brood during that difficult period cycle. between hatching and their initial flight, or The second, or post-nuptial molt, occurs fledging. about the time the young fledge. At this time both sexes receive the eclipse, or non- Waterfowl broods tend to move around a breeding plumage. great deal both before and after fledging. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 1 Migration patterns have been a source of Waterfowl departure and arrival dates are wonder to mankind for thousands of years. highly variable according to species and The reason for migration seems simple weather conditions. Some, like mallards enough. Waterfowl must migrate to and canvasbacks, are reluctant to leave the survive. They cannot winter in the cold nesting grounds, while other species seem country and they can't raise young in the to prefer the warmer climates and head summer heat of their wintering areas. south as early as possible. A fair However, having answered the why, some population of resident ducks that do not of the other questions get tougher. For migrate exist in western Oregon. instance, how? Highly-restrictive and well-standardized This ability to navigate year after year hunting seasons and bag limits have helped between the same two locations to protect waterfowl from further depletion. undoubtedly combines several finely tuned The loss of feeding, nesting and resting senses, not the least of which is inherited habitat continues, but strong efforts are memory. Experiments have shown that being made to stop the loss and to provide juvenile birds released after the adults' high quality habitat where possible. The departure still found their way to the creation of national wildlife refuges and historic wintering grounds alone. state wildlife management areas has been a very large step in the right direction. Waterfowl undoubtedly use visual landscape clues as well. This theory is Oregon has national wildlife refuges borne out by the tendency of migrating established throughout the state to help flocks to make adjustments to their flight improve the survival of migratory paths when over easily recognizable waterfowl. The Malheur National Wildlife landmarks. Waterfowl arealso known to Refuge near Burns was one of the first in overshoot their destinations when flying the refuge system. The three-refuge above cloud layers. William L. Finley complex in the Willamette Valley was created primarily to In addition, these birds probably use star, provide wintering grounds for dusky sun and moon sightings to help establish Canada geese. National wildlife refuges their direction, since radar trackings have also exist in the Klamath Basin and along shown them capable of flying all night the Columbia River. above a cloud layer and still maintaining an The Oregon Department of Fish and accurate heading. Some research has Wildlife has also established 17 wildlife suggested that waterfowl posses an internal management areas throughout the state. awareness of the earth's magnetic field. All provide protective cover and feed for a Knowledge of such a process is sketchy at variety of birds. Some, like Sauvie Island, this point, however. Summer Lake, Ladd Marsh, Fern Ridge and the Klamath wildlife management They migrate at any altitude from a few areas, were created with a waterfowl feet above the sea up to 20,000 feet, emphasis. These refuges signify a depending upon species and weather statewide commitment to provide feed, rest conditions. Pilot reports and radar tracking and protection to migratory waterfowl. A indicates that the farther the flight, the small price indeed, t o preserve one of our higher the likely altitude. most cherished resources. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 2 Based on physical characteristics and Geese feeding habits, ducks divide themselves neatly into three separate categories, dabblers, divers, and perching ducks. Perching Ducks Perching ducks have sharp claws that enable them to sit comfortably in the branches of trees. Only one species of perching duck is native to the United States and Canada, the wood duck. This most colorful of waterfowl came very close to extinction in the early 1900s. Wood duck Canada geese, brant, snow geese, Ross' geese, white-fronted geese. There are eleven subspecies of Canada geese, of which seven are found in Oregon. These include the dusky, Taverner's, lesser, cackling, Vancouver, Western, and occasionally, the Aleutian. Geese are slower to mature than are the smaller ducks. Although they may form pairs when they are a year old, most geese do not breed until the age of three. Prior to 1918, unrestricted hunting and Should both male and female remain healthy, destruction of woodland habitat had the pair bonds are maintained for life. Should reduced the wood duck numbers to the one of the partners be lost, however, the point that their survival was in question. A survivor will waste no time in finding another ban on hunting was the first step. The mate shortly after returning to the nesting construction and placement of thousands of grounds. nesting houses in wood duck habitat helped to ensure the bird's reproduction and Unlike drakes, which show an almost universal survival. disregard for family responsibility, the ganders, or male geese, demonstrate a deep-seated In its natural setting, the wood duck prefers devotion to mate and young. Ganders will cavities high in trees, preferably with small remain nearby even after the eggs are laid to entrances that help to keep out raccoons, stand guard while the females incubates. In which are a serious predator. A day or two fact, ganders take an active role in the rearing of after her eggs hatch, the hen calls to herb the young. young from outside the tree. With only a moment's hesitation they jump to the Although both adults are fiercely protective of ground one at a time from heights of up to their young, little concern is shown for keeping 60 feet. The young are almost never the family unit cohesive. Young Canada geese injured in this process. The female then frequently change families simply by waddling leads her brood to water. next door. No one seems to mind. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 3 The larger birds, like geese and swans, Tundra swan normally hatch a high percentage of their eggs. Unfortunately, this success does not always mean a high percentage of young raised to adulthood. In some cases, like that of the dusky Canada geese that winter in the Willamette Valley, an unprecedented event causes the problem. An earthquake upheaval raised the duskys' nesting grounds on Alaska's Copper River Delta, making it much more accessible to predators and resulting in significant reductions in the dusky population. But it doesn't take an earthquake to cause significant losses to the young of the larger waterfowl. The worst threat to their survival is weather. Geese and swans require up to four months for the young to fledge, compared to only one and one half months for mallards. This extended period leaves the Tundra swans, once called whistlers, are goslings and cygnets vulnerable to the early winter visitors to Oregon. Most rest for a onslaught of winter and to the long, arduous while in Malheur and Klamath Falls migration, which the larger birds tend to before continuing on to their primary accomplish by flying both day and night with wintering ground on the Sacramento infrequent rest stops.
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