Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Waterfowl

[ysabetwordsmith]

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth runs April 25-May 15. This year, I'll be posting about birds in honor of birdfeeding. Today's topic is Waterfowl.




Waterfowl come in many varieties. Anseriformes span three families: Anhimidae (screamers), Anseranatidae (magpie geese), and Anatidae (ducks, geese, and swans). About 170 of the 180 species are Anatidae. All are well adapted to life on and near water. Common features include water-repelling feathers, insulating fat, and webbed feet. Most waterfowl spend their time on the surface, but some dive underwater in search of food. Similar water birds include loons, coots, and moorhens.

Waterfowls Bird Family

Coot, Gallinule and Moorhen

Duck Identification

Merganser Ducks

Duck Identification Tips

Waterfowl ID - Ducks Unlimited

Identification of Geese Category

Grebe Identification

Loon Identification

Swan Identification

Ten Tips for Waterfowl Beginners

Winter is the Season to Find Massive Flocks of Waterfowl


Most waterfowl eat aquatic plants and/or animals like fish. However, people love feeding ducks and geese. Bread isn't good for them, and it can be challenging to find other natural foods they will eat. Commercial poultry food comes in two basic types: dry scratch that you can put in a trough or ground feeder, and floating pellets you can throw. The latter is suitable for bagging up to take to a park. At least one company makes a product meant for park use, Quack Snacks, but if you do this regularly then buying a big bag at a feed store is much cheaper. You can also use floating fish food such as koi pellets. If you want to feed ducklings or goslings, this is your best bet since floating fish food comes in many sizes while floating duck food only comes in big pellets. For a more active options, many ducks adore live crickets and are very entertaining to watch chasing them. If you raise waterfowl, you can keep stacks of cardboard in the yard to attract crickets and worms. Simply unstack the layers to reveal live food, then restack after the feeding frenzy. Ducks will happily "help" you turn your compost pile too, eating anything that moves. Fish-eating waterfowl can be supplied with feeder goldfish in a shallow pond. Alternatively, if you have plentiful space, you can plant a waterfowl food plot; this works well next to a pond or other waterfront.

13 Things to Feed Ducks (Spoiler Alert: NEVER Bread!)

Best Commercial Duck Foods

Can Ducks Eat Fish Food? 5 Surprising Benefits

Geese Habitat and Food

Waterfowl Feeding Adaptations

Waterfowl Food Plots

What Do Baby Ducks Eat? (How To Feed These Cuties)

What Do Canadian Geese Eat? 20+ Foods They Prefer

What Do Geese Eat? A Guide to Feeding Geese

What to feed ducks?


Water attracts these birds. Mostly they appear near natural ponds, lakes, or rivers. Some also like manmade bodies like borrow pits. One interchange near me has a pond in one section, a wetland with several puddle-ponds in another, and a third that's more dry: really a great combination of little habitats that the wildlife loves. You can easily view them at such places. Small species like ducks may show up at a backyard wildlife pond, and considerably more will come to a farm pond or wetland. If you want to raise or attract waterfowl, it's best to design a pond for them, as their needs differ from some other types of pond. A wildlife pond will also work, but it will work better if you keep waterfowl in mind when designing it. Bigger is better, but on a farm scale, multiple small ponds create more habitat than a single large pond. You can also created a lobed pond for extended shoreline. If you want little or no open water, consider a rain garden; when wet, it will still provide good habitat.

5 DIY Duck Pond Plans You Can Make Today (with Pictures)

25+ Awesome Backyard Duck Pond Ideas and Designs

30 Wildlife Pond Design Ideas for Native Animals & Critters

Attracting Wildlife to Your Pond

Creating a Rain Garden: Two Designs and Plant List

Creating a Wildlife Pond In Your Landscape

Duck Habitat Needs and Development

High-Priority Habitats

How To Attract Wild Ducks to Ponds (Best Methods)

How to build a backyard pond with a DIY biofilter

How To Build A Duck Pond For Your Flock

How to Build a Fishing and Hunting Pond

Planting Design Templates for Rain Gardens

Waterfowl Habitat

Waterfowl Management for Montana Landowners

Wetland Management For Waterfowl Handbook


If at all possible, include a marsh filter (aka swamp filter, kidney filter, bog filter, biofilter, etc.) for the pond, because waterfowl love wetlands. It gives them more than just the open water. Plants can be used to create a marsh filter that cleans waste water. A meandering path routes the water through more roots for maximum effect. Watch a video of one in action.

Bog filter design - what size?

Build an Active Gravel Bog Filter

Ecosystem Pond Filtration [A Biological Process]

Why You Will Love A Wetland Filtration System For Your Pond


Cavity nesting ducks include buffleheads, goldeneyes, mergansers, and wood ducks. They will use birdhouses built and placed for their needs. Wood ducklings actually need to drop at least several feet after hatching! Without this "jump start" they rarely survive. Most other ducks nest on the ground, as do geese and other waterfowl. Many species love nesting on small islands or in floating duck houses. Some will also use houses on shore that resemble doghouses.

13 Fabulous DIY Floating Duck House Plans and Ideas for Your Feathered Friends

23 Duck House Plans With Tutorials That You Can Build In A Weekend

The Best Duck Nesting Box + Alternatives (FAQs)

Duck & Goose Nesting Boxes and Floating Nesting Platforms

Duck Houses / Duck Boxes

Duck / Waterfowl Nesting Boxes

Ducks that Nest in Boxes - 70birds Birdhouse Plans Index

FLOATING ISLANDS MAKE GREAT WATERFOWL HABITAT

Goose Shelter Options - Backyard Poultry - Countryside

Jump Day

Nest Box Guide for Waterfowl

Time to Prepare Those Duck and Goose Nests!