Feeding sites

 

For a wetland habitat to hold and produce large numbers of ducks it must have sufficient sources of high-quality food. Requirements vary with the age structure of the ducks and season so a variety of foods and feeding sites should be available.

The primary requirement of dabbling ducks is shallow water, preferably less than 16 in. (40 cm.) deep because this is the maximum depth to which an up-ended mallard can reach, while a teal can reach down only 4-6 in. ( 10-15 cm.). Shallow water is also far more productive of plant and animal foods than deep water, and even diving ducks like the tufted duck and pochard prefer depths of around 6-15 ft. (2-5 m.) in which to feed.

Ducklings particularly need shallow rich waters where the invertebrates on which they must feed should be readily available. Such areas will also attract wading birds such as snipe, redshank, curlew etc.

The majority of aquatic invertebrates on which waterfowl feed live on and amongst water plants, and the water margin and shallows can be considerably improved by the introduction of food and cover plants.

In the spring and summer most of the dabbling and diving ducks will obtain food in and around the water in their breeding and moulting areas. In the winter the dabbling species usually use lakes or sea-shores as day-time roosts, while they feed away from water on cereal grains, the seeds of arable weeds, grasses, frosted potatoes, drilled seeds, acorns etc., and geese and wigeon will graze sprouting cereals. The proximity of such food resources is an advantage when choosing a site for development as a wildfowl refuge, but the adults of all species will fly quite long distances between their roosts and feeding grounds.

For most of the year, the grazing geese and wigeon (sometimes mallard and teal) require short, good-quality, growing grasses on which to feed. It is important that this is available in undisturbed places close to the nesting sites, so that juveniles do not have to travel far to reach their feeding grounds.

Suitable goose and wigeon feeding sites can be provided by allowing cattle access to a large part of the lakeside and by using sheep to graze selected areas to produce 'goose lawns'. This grazing is preferable to mowing as it is less labour intensive, and produces a much richer sward.

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