Feathered Fridays - Gadwall

Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Anas stepera

Before I started teaching myself about birds, I don’t think I was aware of just how many types of duck (or wildfowl) there were beyond the common Mallard or the typical farmyard white duck – which I later learnt to also be a variant of the Mallard. But now I’ve encountered names like Pochard, Wigeon, Pintail and Garganey. The duck I am focusing on this fortnight, however, goes by the name of the Gadwall and appears, at first, to be a rather unassuming choice.

It isn’t much smaller than the Mallard (roughly 46-55cm/18-22in) and is a largely brown and dove-grey bird, with a black rear end and a straight black bill; the females are differentiated by being, like most other ducks, a mottled shade of brown with orange sides to the bill. Both sexes have a white patch on the base of their wing, visible when in flight, but if you take a closer look at the male’s feathers, you will see the grey is beautifully marbled and speckled with a pattern like that of the shadows cast in a shallow stream.

Their call is also quite fascinating too, composed of a muted series of quacks and nasal squeaks which put me in mind of Mr Busy, the beaver from Walt Disney’s ‘Lady and the Tramp’, with his whistling lisp.

These ducks are commonly seen in Autumn and Winter in migratory flocks from Western Russia and central Europe, settling on reservoirs and flooded pits to dabble and ‘up-end’ for seeds, insects, roots, and shoots. They have often been observed following flocks of Coot, waiting for them to dive and uproot vegetation which they will take.

During their breeding season, they can lay between 8 and 12 eggs in a down-lined hollow near the water, even laying again with a different partner if this clutch fails. But despite this seemingly large brood, they have been classified as ‘vulnerable’ with only 1,200 nesting pairs being recorded annually and 25,000 birds wintering in the UK from October to March. It would a shame to think this beautifully simple duck might not make it back to our lakes and reses in years to come, but you still have time to spot one for yourself.

Facts taken from: the RSPB, Wildlife Trusts, the British Waterfowl Association, and the RSPB’s ‘Birds of Britain and Europe’ Guidebook by Rob Hume.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/gadwall/

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/birds/waterfowl/gadwall

https://www.waterfowl.org.uk/wildfowl/true-ducks/gadwall/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0241302242/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1