Ruddy Duck

                                                             Ruddy Duck Male [Internet Photo]

The Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) is an uncommon summer resident of New Brunswick.  The first record of one seen here was in 1966 near Oromocto.  Since then it has become gradually more common so that now one can see 2 or 3 of them somewhere in the province each year in the spring, summer or fall.  The first breeding record was at Bell Marsh near Moncton in 1994.  This year there have been 3 at the Hampton lagoon most of the summer.  No doubt there have been a few others in the province as well.  

                                                Ruddy Ducks Seen at Hampton Lagoon  [R Blaquier Photo]

The Ruddy Duck is a member of the stiff-tailed duck group.  It is shaped differently from most other ducks with a small compact body, a long stiff tail which it often holds upright and a spade-shaped bill.  It is a diving duck and feeds by diving for long periods.  It is reluctant to take off from water, preferring to dive for protection.  

The Ruddy Duck is 38 cm (15 inches) long.  The male is a rufous brown colour with a characteristic white cheek patch.  His bill is large and sky blue in colour.  His head appears large and he can raise a double crest which is not often seen.  In his non-breeding plumage he becomes duller with the rufous brown turning to a dull gray.  He retains his cheek patch and blue bill.  The female is a dull gray brown year round.  She has the same shape as the male but has a dark brown cap and back and lighter buff face, neck, breast and sides.  She has a characteristic brown line on her cheek through her eye which is used to differentiate her from other similar species (female Bufflehead, and the Masked Duck of southern Texas).  Juveniles are similar to females.  The Ruddy Duck is generally silent but the female can make a nasal 'rrh' sound or a high squeak.  The only times the males vocalize are during courtship when they make a long series of popping sounds.  

                                    Ruddy Duck Male Showing Raised Crest  [Internet Photo]

The Ruddy Duck is mostly a waterfowl species of western North America.  It is a permanent resident of the western US, Mexico and the Caribbean Islands.  It breeds in the US mid-west and our prairie provinces northward to Yukon and Northwest Territories.  Besides its permanent resident areas it winters in the southern US from Texas eastward to Florida and northward into the Carolinas.

In 1948 Dr. Peter Scott imported a few of this species into his wildfowl collection in Great Britain.  From there they became an invasive species throughout Europe.  By the year 2000 the population had increased to about 6,000.  They were aggressive against a close species which is native there, the White-headed Duck and began hybridizing with them.  Because the White-headed Duck population became threatened the conservationists began an extirpation program.  This was led by Spain and was expanded to other European countries.  By the year 2014 the cull had reduced the British population down to less than 100.

Ruddy Ducks prefer freshwater marshes, marshy lakes and ponds.  In winter they inhabit marshes and shallow coastal bays.  They build their nests in thick vegetation in reeds or bulrushes.  The nest is floating and well concealed.  Five to seventeen creamy white eggs are laid and incubated for 23 to 26 days by the female.  They feed on seeds, pond weeds like wild celery, algae, aquatic insects, shellfish and crustaceans. We don't often get to see their nest or ducklings!

                                                                        Ruddy Duck Male

The Ruddy Duck's scientific name, Oxyura jamaicensis, is descriptive.  It is derived from the Greek word, 'oxus' meaning 'sharp' and 'oura' meaning 'tail'.  The specific name is obviously from Jamaica.

A little known fact about this species which few in our province have seen is that there is a dark-headed variant.  The male Ruddy Duck can rarely be found with no white cheek patch and an all black head.  If that occurred here it would really be an interesting test for identification.

Rufous Hummingbird

 

Rufous Hummingbird Male [Ron Wilson Photo]

Recently for a 2-to-3 day period we had a Rufous Hummingbird in New Brunswick.  That is a rare event,  this species occuring only accidentally in this province.  Previously, one occurred in Grand Manan in 1993 and another in 2005 in Shippagan.  The one in Shippagan stayed for several days giving many birders a chance to see it.  Fortunately the recent visitor arrived at a feeder where it was recognized as rare.  The hosts made the event known among the birding community and several people went to see it.  Some of the photos in this blog (Ron Wilson Photos) are from one such viewer.  

Rufous Hummingbird Male [Ron Wilson Photo]

Rufous Hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) is a common hummingbird species in western North America where it spends its summers on breeding range as far north as southeastern Alaska.  If it accidentally occurs in the east, it is most often in fall and winter.  It winters in the extreme southeastern US and Mexico.  It prefers riparian habitats, forests, shrub and brush areas, coastland and high mountain meadows.  Rufous Hummingbirds feed mostly on nectar, sap from sapsucker wells, insects and spiders.  It consumes up to 3 times its body weight daily.  No wonder it is difficult to keep hummingbird feeders full!  This species is hardy.  It can survive temperatures below freezing as long as it gets sufficient food and good shelter.

Rufous Hummingbird Male [Ron Wilson Photo]

The Rufous Hummingbird is a small, compact hummingbird.  It is 8-9 cm long (3.2-3.7 inches).  It can be a difficult species to identify especially if the individual is female or immature.  The male is relatively easy to identify.  He is bright rufous with a white breast and ear patch.  He has a red-orange throat which shimmers in light and he sometimes has green shoulders.  His rounded tail is rufous with black edges.  He may have green on the back and head.  The photos above show the male plumage.  

The female is another story.  She has green upperparts, rufous sides and undertail, and a white breast and belly.  Her throat is mottled light gray with an orange central spot.  Her tail is rufous, black and green with white on the outer tail feather tips.  The juveniles resemble the females.  

Rufous Hummingbird Showing Shimmering Throat [Internet Photo]

The Rufous Hummingbird is known for its dive displays.  The males climb up to 10 metres (30 feet) to a starting point from which they make a 'J'-shaped dive emitting a buzzing sound.  When the flight levels out they do a fancy fluttering and then climb to repeat the spectacle.  Ornithologists have shown that the females have longer wings than the males.  This allows the males to beat their wings faster than females giving them a better ability to chase away other birds from their territory.  This unfortunately is used against the females as well.  The males chase the females away from the best food sources which they keep for themselves.  The females then need to fly farther to gather food for their young.  Apparently this is compensated for by the longer wing and thus an easier, less metabolic-draining flight.  

There are 3 Selasphorus hummingbird species; Rufous, Broad-tailed, Allen's Hummingbirds.  Rufous females and juveniles are difficult to differentiate from the Allen's Hummingbird.  They can be safely distinguished only in the hand.  Identification involves rectrices' width and taper with respect to age as well as other features.  

I was lucky to see a female Rufous Hummingbird one time on Vancouver Island.  I was walking on a raised gravel path about 2 metres above ground level with large softwood trees on the sides.  I looked sideways and there on one of the wide softwood branches just below my eye level was a very small nest with a hummingbird sitting on it, a Rufous Hummingbird.  It was a female in the daze that sitting birds get into while incubating eggs.  She did not even see me and I watched her secretly for a few minutes before I had to move on.  That was a special moment!  

No description of a species is complete without a few interesting facts.  The Rufous Hummingbird has the longest migration route of all North American hummingbirds.  The one that appeared here certainly had a long flight!  This species has such a good memory it returns to the exact location of last year's feeders seeking food for the new season.  A good reason to fill your feeders every year. 

Caspian Tern

Caspian Tern - Showing Underwing Black Patch  [Internet Photo]

The Caspian Tern (Hydropogne caspia) is a rare spring migrant and a casual late summer and fall visitor to New Brunswick.  It is our largest tern, the largest tern in the world, in fact.  It is 33-36 cm long (13-14 inches) and weighs 782 g (28 oz).  One time in 1996 a neighbour called me about an unusual bird under her feeder.  When I arrived I was astounded to see a Caspian Tern lying on the ground.  I picked it up because it obviously had something wrong with it.  Examination revealed it normal physically.  My diagnosis was extreme exhaustion and hypothermia.  It was an exhausted spring migrant which had to put down in an unusual place.  What amazed me was the weight and size of this bird.  The Caspian Tern is a big bird!  It is about the size of a Ring-billed Gull but much more robust.

The Caspian Tern ranges sporadically worldwide.  In North America there are colonies in central Canada, around the Great Lakes, in Newfoundland and Labrador, and in the northwestern US states.  The North American population winters from northern California and North Carolina southward.  I have seen many in South Carolina and Florida.  They are found in Europe around the Baltic and Black Seas and also in Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.  They are expanding their range northward presumably due to global warming.  In 2016 a nest was found in Cape Krusenstern National Monument in northwestern Alaska, 1600 km/1000 miles further north than previous records.  The global population is stable but the Baltic Sea population is declining and of concern.  

Caspian Tern Adult  [Marbeth Wilson Photo]

The Caspian Tern has a powerful flight with shallow wing beats.  This is very noticeable in comparing the Caspian Tern to the Royal Tern.  The Caspian Tern is distinctive and easy to distinguish from other terns.  The large size, heavy body, stout red bill and black cap are distinguishing characteristics.  The blood red bill (I have seen some that are more orangish but not as light as the Royal Tern bill) has a small black ring around the tip.  The black cap is sometimes crested. Winter adults and juveniles have white streaks in their black caps.  The tail is forked but less forked than other terns.  The upper wings and back are pale gray.  The underwings distinguish this species from the Royal Tern.  In the Caspian Tern the underwing is whitish with a large black patch at the wing tips.  The underwing of the Royal Tern is mostly whitish.  Caspian Terns do not have white foreheads like Royal Terns sometimes do. 

Caspian Terns nest in scrapes soon after arriving on the nesting grounds (late May or early June).  The scrapes are lined with egg shells and grass.  One to five brownish pink eggs are incubated for 20 to 28 days.  The young fledge after 37 days.  That is a long time to feed the young.  Some juveniles stay with the adults for many months thereafter.  This species eats mainly fish but also crayfish, and insects.  They will steal food from other birds.  They feed by plunge-diving or by catching fish at the surface as they fly low over the water. 

The Caspian Terns we see in New Brunswick in spring are rare spring migrants.  There was one at Mactaquac Dam on 30 April 2000.  The one I picked up at Douglas in 1996 was in May.  Most of our sightings are in August and September along the southern part of our east coast or along the Bay of Fundy.    There have been 1 to 3 Caspian Terns at Petit Cap for the last week.  I saw one there on August 27.  Occasionally one will migrate along the St. John River.  One was seen last week on 29 August 2020 at Fredericton.

Caspian Tern Adult on Favourite Habitat

So what happened to the individual I found under the bird feeder?  I picked it up and spent some time warming it.  After it got warmed and more active I took it to the river and released it.  It flew high in the sky and headed north.  Caspian Terns are known to be aggressive especially around their colonies.  They will pursue and attack predators including humans.  I did not know this when I rescued the bird in question. (It wouldn't have mattered).  Fortunately it was too stressed to worry about me.  I hope it went on to Labrador to breed successfully.