Just saw 2000 ducks! Is that normal? (1 Viewer)

T

Toller

Member

• Jan 22, 2014

• #1

I live on a lake in upstate New York.
A flock of about 2000 ducks just swam by. It was about 90% redheads, 8% goldeneyes, and 2% scaup and mallards.
I have never seen anything remotely like it before, and wonder if it is normal.
It is about 5*F out, so maybe they are together for warmth?
I have not seen a redhead before (and now 1800 of them!); perhaps that is because they are always in huge flocks, so you rarely see them, but when you do...? I don't know, just guessing.

 

E

etudiant

Registered User

Supporter

• Jan 22, 2014

• #2

Doubt they are together for warmth, but here in NYC, ducks gather in the remaining unfrozen patches of the Reservoir and their motion keeps the surface open. Canada Geese though seem much more inclined to tough it out on the ice. Grebes however stay in the water to the bitter end.

 

T

Toller

Member

• Jan 22, 2014

• #3

The whole lake is open, so they aren't forced to be together.
It is a mile and a half wide and 240' deep, so it never freezes.

This is about a quarter of what's out there now, and that is less than half of what was there this morning.



I expect ponds are pretty well frozen over, and some of the shallower lakes might be also. But still, this is a lot of ducks.

 

Last edited: Jan 22, 2014

chris butterworth

aka The Person Named Above

• Jan 22, 2014

• #4

Large flocks tend to build up on larger lakes when surrounding, smaller waters freeze over. It could be the result of the grim weather you've had / are having in North America.

 

T

Tideliner

Well-known member

• Jan 23, 2014

• #5

2000 ducks are a good but not a particulary large flock of duck. I often see 3-5000 wigeon in one flock and have seen a lot more at times.

 

Adam W

Well-known member

• Jan 24, 2014

• #6

I often see 10,000+ Wigeon together, Certainly in the USA I would'nt have thought that flocks into thousands were exceptional.

 

T

Toller

Member

• Jan 26, 2014

• #7

Maybe a couple thousand are not exceptional, but last year (this is my second winter here) I never saw more than a couple dozen at a time. Of course I didn't see any redheads either, and the big flocks are mainly redheads.

 

dantheman

Bah humbug

• Jan 26, 2014

• #8

Certain locations and times certainly get seemingly loaded numbers of wildfowl - a few times in America and here in the UK in my experience. Seems plausible that it could be due to conditions elsewhere you are seeing so many in this instance if it's not a regular site for good numbers.

 

Z

Zheljko

Well-known member

• Jan 27, 2014

• #9

Toller said:

I live on a lake in upstate New York.
A flock of about 2000 ducks just swam by. It was about 90% redheads, 8% goldeneyes, and 2% scaup and mallards.
I have never seen anything remotely like it before, and wonder if it is normal.
It is about 5*F out, so maybe they are together for warmth?
I have not seen a redhead before (and now 1800 of them!); perhaps that is because they are always in huge flocks, so you rarely see them, but when you do...? I don't know, just guessing.

Click to expand...

We have about 2000 coots and ducks at Sava-into-Danube confluence (1 km length of bank), plus practically uncountable small gulls. They are stretched along the river in smaller or larger groups (there are rafts and small boats tied to the bank so that breaks the water surface into smaller units)

 

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whatdouthink

Well-known member

• Feb 1, 2014

• #10

Toller, I'm near Syracuse and I have about 100 in the tiny canal behind our house. In the very cold I do think the huddle together. When going for food in the snow, they moved as a block even though there was food in places that would allow them to spread out. They stayed so crammed together that some were almost on top of others.