Through the Looking Glass of Val Lee – Gadwall Dabbling Duck

February 3, 2010 by Val Lee

Cute Gadwall Couple by Val Lee

The photos in this article are of the Gadwall Dabbling Duck, shot in my favorite park in Idaho that is full of natural wildlife. Dabbling ducks outnumber diving ducks two to one. I have only spotted Gadwalls in the fall and their stay is short. Last year I surveyed one or two, but this year there were several. They could only be glimpsed in one pond area. I never saw them dabbling in any of the other ponds in the park. I have to confess, I didn’t know what kind of dabblers they were though I took a liking to them, enjoying their sweet faces with comforting eyes. I researched various outlets for Idaho ducks, but I never met any matches. Finally, I emailed Pam Conley, the president of our “Golden Eagle Audubon Society.” She checked one of her bird books and emailed an answer in amazing swiftness. I thanked her via email and was able to express gratitude in person a few days ago.

This water dabbler is distributed throughout the southern two-thirds of the United States during winter, with greatest concentrations in the Central and Mississippi flyways. They populate the intermountain west of North America, and most of Mexico. In Great Britain, the Gadwall is scarce, though its population has increased in recent years.

Gadwall Dabbling

Gadwalls are spotted in reservoirs, ponds and coastal fresh and brackish marshes. They often associate with American Wigeons and Coots. They are often sighted feeding far from the shoreline, in deeper water than other dabbling ducks. Aquatic vegetation is their desired entrée forte. Gadwalls feed on leafy portions of pondweed, naiad, grasses, water milfoil and algae, as well as the seeds of pondweed, smartweed, bulrush and spike rush. They also partake of aquatic invertebrates, such as crustaceans (shelled life) and midges (insects). Jesus Christ formed their beaks to strain food as they water plunge with head straight down. Their bills sift in the good tastes and remove the bad. God also created them to forge in both salty and non-salty waters. Most dabblers are equipped for both salty and fresh waters. Land eating, rummaging through dry grasses for edibles, is often a choice of theirs by design. God created His avis’ to be multitasked—what marvels! It is mind-boggling to contemplate on all of life’s phenomenons.

Gadwall by Val Lee

The Gadwall (Anas strepera) is 18–22 inches in length with a 31–35 wingspan. The male is slightly larger than the female, weighing in at 35 ounces and the female—30 ounces. Both sexes go through two molts (feather replacements) annually. The breeding drake is patterned grey, with black tail feathers, light chestnut wings, and a brilliant white speculum (a bright, often iridescent patch of color on the wings) obvious in flight or at rest. The plumage of the drake appears more like the hen’s during the non-breeding season, but retains the male wing pattern. Their bills are slate-gray and legs and feet are yellow. Hens can display a yellowish bill with dark spots, though it can be as dark as the drake’s. Gadwalls coupled are difficult to distinguish outside of breeding season. The hen can appear to be brown and sometimes gray and the same can be said of the drake. During breeding, the hen can appear to be an average female Mallard from afar. I know when I see Gadwall couples they look identical to me in the non-breeding season.

I have noted Gadwalls are not vocal like the Mallards, especially the female Mallard. My husband enjoys pointing out female Mallards and the fact that they make the most noise. These winged gals are loudmouths and can be heard from a great distance. No quiet and gentle spirit found here. They talk far more than the males and yell out with a distinctive ear-piercing quack. It must be noted that the Gadwalls come across as quiet and gentle—both the male and female. The only time this does not hold true is during breeding season when hens produce a higher pitched quack transcribed as gag-ag-ag-ag. Drakes give a grunt and a whistle.

Gadwalls are monogamous. This type of faithful breeding always delights my heart. This can represent God’s amazing faithfulness to those who love Jesus Christ. He never leaves or forsakes them. Relationships of devotion can witness to God’s faithfulness and unconditional love displayed for all creation. God is faithfully kind to the entire world with His daily gifts of necessities. It is the goodness of God that brings many to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. For more information regarding God’s goodness toward you, please click here: Letter to the Bird Enthusiast!

Gadwalls breed May through July near seasonal and semi-permanent grassy wetlands and in mixed prairie regions of the United States and Canada. They are late breeders compared to most quackers.

Drake dudes will perform a range of head-up and tail-up maneuvers to catch the attention of the opposite sex. He will throw his head back and jerk with his tail feathers upright. He will move out of the water and then will slowly sink back down while making a loud whistle. (Now true ladies do not like to be whistled at, but I guess here is an exception.) When the guy thinks he has captured the eye of a gal, he will begin courting by performing other displays separately or in unison. The honeymoon begins with the couple bobbing their heads up and down and touching their bills to the water horizontally with their necks extended. They are so adorable, they are the talk of Watertown.

Once united for life, the couple begins home-site searching. They will fly low over meadows and upland habitat in search of that perfect plot of land on which to build their first home. The gal usually likes to choose a place near her family home, where she was reared. (God has placed quite the memory in these aves.) The fellow will stand guard as his gal inspects the area for suitable materials for home building. When an area has been chosen, the female constructs a nest bowl by scraping a depression in the soil. She then lines it with leaves, grasses, and twigs obtained from nearby housing materials. She may then line the nest with down feathers plucked from her body—that personal sacrifice for the perfect crib.

Female Gadwall Breeding Plumage by Val Lee

She will lay a clutch from 7 to 13 eggs at the rate of one egg per day. The average incubation period is 26 days with the female spending 85% of her time on the eggs. After hatching, the young are led by their mother from the nest area. Since the ducklings are precocial, they instinctively forge for food. The female will remain with her brood for about 10 weeks.

They acquire a juvenile plumage that lasts approximately 10 weeks. The juvenile plumage of both the drake and hen appear almost identical to the female plumage of all dabbling ducks. At the 10 week mark, they begin their prealternate molt (loss of young feathers for adult plumage). The juvenile plumage of both the drake and hen appear almost identical to the female plumage of all dabbling ducks.

Postscript:

In the last couple of days, during early March, I have spotted many Gadwalls in a different pond area. I have never observed them during this time of year previously in our wildlife park. Here is my video of a male and female dabbling. The female is displaying her breeding season plumage.