Gadwall Gallery

Gadwall dabbling for food at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Dabble Dabble Do

One way of classifying ducks is based on their feeding patterns. Diving ducks dive, completely submersing themselves as they feed on the plants or animals under the water’s surface. Dabbling ducks dabble, flicking up their backsides into the air, their heads submersed and grabbing at food in shallow waters, their large webbed feet gently paddling to keep the vertical pose.

The light of the setting sun hints at warmth, but the ice in the foreground tells the story. This dabbling drake was feeding on a cold winter’s evening, the movement of the ducks helping keep some channels open even though most of the water had frozen over.

Gadwall swims at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Water Water Eveywhere, I Think I’ll Have A Drink

One of the advantages of being a duck is that when you’re thirsty, all you have to do is drop your bill a couple of inches into the water. You can even drink mid-swim like this drake, taking a few sips while you paddle along, never missing a beat.

It’s not apparent from the picture, but on this day drinking while swimming wasn’t quite as easy as it normally is. A cold snap had frozen much of the water on the refuge, with this narrow channel partially thawed. Swimming ducks helped keep it open, aided by the warmth of the suns rays.

Gadwall walks across ice at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

C-c-c-c-cold!

It might seem like it’s too cold for this drake to keep both of his feet on the ice, but it was actually just walking across the frozen channel. That’s not to say he couldn’t keep just one foot on the ground if he wanted to — like most birds, gadwall can stand on one foot for as long as they want, with the other leg safely (and warmly) pulled up under the feathers and against the body.

I didn’t quite capture the gadwall’s stride the way I would have liked, but I like how the ice looks so dark in the light of the setting sun. This picture was taken in the same channel as the picture below, but at very different times of the year.

Gadwall drake in duck weed at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

A Shy Friend

It took me a while to warm to the gadwall. While most male ducks are brightly colored, the gadwall is fairly subdued. They are a little shy and not seen in large numbers around here, so I didn’t take much notice of them. But they’ve really grown on me over the years and now I always feel a little delight in seeing one swimming in some quiet channel. While shy, they don’t spook as easily as wood ducks, so they are easier to observe (and photograph).

This drake was in a shallow channel at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. It was slowly paddling, you can see duckweed covering its breast and the narrow trail through the duckweed where it has been swimming.