Blue-winged Teal

Anas discors

Written by Kathy Richards and edited by Chris Coyle

The population is in decline due to habitat loss, including nesting sites, and overhunting.

HABITAT:

Found in southern New England, found primarily along the Connecticut River as well as other scattered spots throughout Massachusetts, but mostly on Nantucket, Monomoy and the outer Cape.  It winters along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from North Carolina to southern California, central Peru, and Argentina.

Blue-winged Teal breed in freshwater wetlands, marshes, and marshy edges of lakes, streams, and ponds as well as prairie potholes (in the West).  They can occasionally be found in boreal and deciduous forests.  They prefer wetlands with emergent vegetation, especially along the shoreline.  They also like calm water.  They winter in shallow inland waters.

Blue-Winged Teal Alan D. Wilson, CC BY-SA 2.5

BEHAVIOR:

The male will defend a female, but not territory.  They are the last waterfowl to arrive in the spring and the first to leave in the fall.

NESTING:

Eggs are laid between May and July.  Typically, 8-12 eggs are laid, usually one per day.  They will build nests in dense, grassy areas like hayfields, sedge meadows, or under bushes, close to the water (up to 1m away).  The nest is created in a bowl shape, well hidden and lined with down feathers which the female plucks from her breast.

FOOD:

Seeds from sedges, grasses, pond weed, smartweed as well as insects, crustaceans, and snails.  Mostly feed in wet meadows, mudflats, and shallow water.

PREDATORS:

Mammals such as foxes, raccoons and skunks.  Raptors may prey on females while nesting.  Weasels may consume eggs.