Redhead: Connecticut Audubon Bird Finder for February 13
Redhead
Aythrya Americana
By this week’s new author…
Michael Aurelia, a resident of Greenwich, joins us this week as a new Connecticut Audubon Bird Finder author.
Mike is a member of Connecticut Audubon Society’s Board of Directors. He is the retired director of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency for the Town of Greenwich.
He’s been interested in birds probably since his grandmother took him to a Connecticut Audubon meeting at Birdcraft Museum – almost 60 years ago.
Redhead
Aythrya Americana
Redheads are often found with other diving ducks this time of year in Connecticut’s coastal embayments that are not frozen over. This month Redheads have been seen in Fairfield and New Haven counties.
What it looks like: The Redhead is a medium sized diving duck. The male has the red head, with a black breast and gray back. Its bill is blue with a black tip. The female is a tawny-brownish over all but also has the black tip on the bill. Redheads can be confused with a canvasback but the canvasback is larger with a black bill and a distinctly different head shape. Redheads are in the same genus as Canvasbacks, Tufted Ducks, Ring-necked Ducks and Greater and Lesser Scaup.
Where and how to find it: This is the only time of year when Redheads are regularly seen in Connecticut, and usually only in small numbers.
You can zero in on the most recent sightings by using eBird’s “Explore Data” feature. Insert “redhead” for species; “date”= current year, and “location” = CT-US. You will find current hot spots where Redheads have been seen including Grass Island Natural Area in Greenwich and Mondo Ponds in Milford. If you have a smart phone a great bird location application is BirdsEye. BirdsEye’s “Nearby Species” feature will get you to the same recent sightings recorded on e-Bird.
Large concentrations of Redheads are found along the Gulf Coast this time of year. In the spring and summer, the birds breed in the prairie pot-hole regions of the U.S. and Canada as well as western wetland complexes. Use e-Bird or the Birdseye app to find the most recent sightings of the bird wherever you are.
Interesting facts: Redheads are considered parasitic nesters. That is to say the hens often lay some of their eggs in the nests of other freshwater wetland ground-nesting birds. They also create their own nests in cattails or phragmites and lay up to 14 eggs. Although their diet is primarily aquatic plants, they eat insects and mollusks in the summer months.
Conservation status: Redhead populations are far below original levels nationwide. The Redhead’s decline has been significantly greater than most ducks. Initially this decline was due to uncontrolled hunting but with the passage of the Migratory Bird Act in 1918 and implementation of strict regulations the hunting losses declined (the Redhead is still a legally hunted species, with a limited open season). Today most believe that the loss of nesting habitat is responsible for the recent population declines.
Finally if you are new to birding or have never tried out eBird, this weekend you can explore both because the Great Backyard Bird Count is happening. Check it out at http://gbbc.birdcount.org. Cornell’s Great Backyard Bird Count was folded into eBird a couple of years ago. By participating you not only make a contribution to citizen science but you can see how eBird can help track the birds you see in Connecticut or anywhere in the world.
Connecticut Audubon Society Bird Finder is edited by Tom Andersen
Photos by Dick Daniels, CarolinaBirds.org
