Duck Duck Goose is a new series at Birder’s Lounge, featuring…you guessed it, ducks and geese. First up is the the Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis). I like to call them “little purple-heads.”

I suppose I could just as easily call them, “blue-bills,” but that would inevitably bring on speculation of a non-G-rated kind. This is an adult male, sporting his attractive breeding plumage. 

This is a female, also in breeding plumage. The Lesser Scaup spends winters in Texas, but does not nest and raise young here. These Lesser Scaups were enjoying a sunny day at White Rock Lake in Dallas, which is also noted as one of the best places to see a Lesser Scaup in Texas.¹

This guy appears to be pondering life’s greatest questions. Or maybe he is just thinking about what he wants for lunch. Lesser Scaups eat by diving into the water and grabbing a bite of plants, seeds, or aquatic invertebrates.

As you can see from the range map below, Lesser Scaups can be seen just about anywhere in North America at some time during the year:

Global Range: >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

Global Range Comments: BREEDING: central Alaska and Mackenzie Delta to northern Manitoba and northern Ontario south to southern British Columbia, northern Idaho, northern Wyoming, northern North Dakota, and Minnesota, casually or irregularly east to central Quebec and south to Washington, central California, northern Utah, central Colorado, central Nebraska, northwestern Iowa, central Illinois, and northern Ohio (AOU 1998). NON-BREEDING: southern Alaska, and from southern British Columbia, southern Idaho, Utah, northeastern Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, southern Great Lakes region, and New England south throughout the southern U.S., Middle America, and West Indies to northern Colombia, northern Venezuela (very small number at southern limit of this range); small numbers in Hawaii. Primary wintering areas in the U.S. include the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains, Mississippi Valley north to the Ohio River, and the Pacific states, plus southern British Columbia; the highest densities occur in southern Florida and along the Mississippi River (Root 1988).²³

This initial post in our “Duck Duck Goose” series has been a light read, but look for more in-depth discussions of topics like duck hunting, wetlands conservation, and water management in future installments.

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