American Black Duck -Swimmers – 3/16/2012

The American Black Duck was photographed behind the Calatrava Art Museum on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Select this link to see photos or a slideshow of the American Black Duck

The American Black Duck is very dark with white wing linings. It has a dark head, grayish throat, and a green-yellow (male) or olive bill (fem). It has a range of the Northeastern North America to the Gulf Coast. It has habitats in marshes, bays, estuaries, ponds, rivers, and lakes. The diet consists of plant material, seeds, leaves, roots, berries, mussels, clams, snails, and insects. It dabbles for food, but rarely dives.

 

Ruddy Duck Bird – Swimmers – 1/14/2013

The male Ruddy Duck in a winter coat was photographed behind the Calatrava Milwaukee Art Museum in Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The female Ruddy Duck with a dark line across the cheek.

Select this link to see photos or a slideshow of the Ruddy Duck

The male Ruddy Duck is a small chubby white cheek with dark cap and a gray color in the winter coat. The summer coat is a rusty red and the bill is dull blue. The female Rusty Duck is similar to the winter, male but with the cheek crossed with a dark line. They often cock the tail vertically and cannot walk on the land. It has a range from southern Canada to northern South America, and occasionally seen around the Great Lakes and eastern US. It has a habitat at fresh marshes, ponds, lakes, and in winter salt bays. It has a diet of mostly seeds, roots, and insects. It forages by diving and swimming underwater, propelled by its feet, and using the bill to strain food items from the mud.