The Gadwall

Gadwell 2 males i female IMG_5385

         What Wetlands Park Winter Visitor Has a Knack for “Pirating” Lunch?

Gadwalls (Mareca strepera) often go unnoticed among the more colorful ducks diving and dabbling in ponds at Clark County Wetlands Park. In fact, they are sometimes called “gray ducks” because their plumage, though actually lovely to look at once it catches the eye, just doesn’t stand out in the crowds. That perhaps gives them an edge when it comes to snagging a delectable meal from someone else!

Male gadwalls are mostly gray-brown, with a white belly and black “rump patch” near the tail. Their bills are slate-gray, and their legs and feet are yellow. Females are mostly mottled brown-buff, with white bellies. Their feet are yellow, and their bills are mottled orange and black, often with a thin orange line around the border. In flight, both sexes show a white wing patch (called a speculum), and males in breeding plumage have chestnut and black areas on their wing coverts. The white speculum may also be visible while the birds are swimming or resting on shore. I like the description from the Cornell All About Birds site of gadwall plumage being “patterned,” rather than “streaked” or “spotted.”

The gadwall is a widespread duck found across North America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. In the United States, it is most common on inland waters west of the Mississippi River. Gadwalls will breed in large marshes or lakes, small farm ponds, and even urban settings, so long as the bodies of water are not bordered by dense forest or by vegetation other than grasses and shrubs. They nest on the ground, favoring sites protected from predators on islands or pond dikes, and in tall dense stands of vegetation, including stands of stinging nettles!  Gadwall pairs are widespread and common on waterways throughout Nevada.  Breeding has even been reported in southern Nevada since 2007, and this seems to be part of a recent range expansion for the gadwall in the state.

Gadwalls are dabbling ducks, and most often feed upended in the water, looking like they are standing on their heads as they busily strain food items from the water or pond bottom with their bills.  They also will dive for food more often than other “dabblers” do, and frequently feed quite far from shore.  On the menu at the Gadwall Pond Café are aquatic plants like the leafy portions of pondweed, naiad (the aquatic larva or nymph of a dragonfly, mayfly, or stonefly), water milfoil, algae and wigeon grass. Seeds of pondweed, smartweed, bulrush and spike rush, and aquatic invertebrates like midges, crustaceans, snails, and water beetles make nice side dishes and desserts. Breeding females consume more insects and invertebrates as they prepare to lay their eggs than at any other time of the year. 

Gadwalls will also feed on shore, favoring grasses, nuts, grain, and small invertebrates. And Gadwalls have another, more interesting and uncommon feeding strategy – piracy! Theft is not unusual in the bird world. Birds are known for stealing anything from each other – including mates, nesting material, eggs, and prey. But to be a “pirate” in the bird world, a bird must harass another bird to force it to give up its food. Gadwalls regularly pirate aquatic vegetation from coots, hanging around where they expect the coot to surface after a dive for food, and sometimes seizing the meal right out of its bill!  Interestingly, the coots usually take the piracy in stride, often immediately dropping the food onto the surface of the water when the pirate approaches!

As you walk the Park’s trails in the crisp, cool winter weather, keep an eye on all those ducks floating around. See if you can separate what has been called the “understated dapperness” of the gadwalls from the other ducks around them. I think you will be glad you did!

– By Chris Leavitt, President; photo by Roy E. Ingram

Please enjoy these YouTube videos!

Meet the Gadwall                 Ed Dominguez                     4:49

A Pair of Sleepy Gadwall Ducks               Irene Downing                         1:36

Gadwall                                 vogelarchive                         1:52

Gadwall duck call sounds, courtship rituals, flock flying                       Go Trails                    4:43