Bufflehead (Bucephala Albeola)

The Bufflehead  is the smallest diving duck. Strikingly patterned in black and white, and constantly active. These compactly built birds become much heavier during migration gaining several onces of stored fat as fuel for travel. This is where they derive the name "butterballs." Like their near relatives, the goldeneyes and mergansers, Bufflehead males do not attain adult plumage until their second winter, and first breed when nearly two years old. it usually stays with its own species in small groups.

Adult Males are black above and white below, with bright pink feet. They wear a white "shawl" around the back of the head, and a broad white band extends from front to back across each wing. Adult females and first-year males are more drab, with the dark areas sooty-grey or brownish rather than black, and the white areas duller and smaller in size than in adult males.

 

 

Both sexes are normally silent, and the only sound commonly heard from Buffleheads is the "grrk" call of females alarmed near nest or brood. 

Breeding Courtship occurs through the winter, becoming more intensive as spring approaches, but most pairing seems to take place during the spring migration, and the birds are paired by the time they reach breeding areas. Males outnumber females, as in most diving ducks, so an appreciable proportion of adult males remains unpaired. In most areas Buffleheads start nesting soon after their arrival. The female Bufflehead lays her eggs in a tree cavity, usually the former nest of a Flicker (woodpecker). The related goldeneyes and mergansers are also tree-nesters. 

Habitat:Breeding: Lakes, ponds, small streams in the forest zone south of the tundra. They seldom nest by rivers and larger lakes as do the other related species, possibly because these waters are inhabited by northern pike, a large fish which readily feeds on small ducklings. Wintering: Shallow, sheltered waters of coves, river mouths, and lagoons, which have a muddy or gravelly bottom. They often feed around old pilings of wharves or log booms. Range: Breeding: From Central Alaska through Canada to north central Quebec and south to the United States border. Wintering: Along the Western coast from Alaska to Baja California. Through Mexico and lower Texas and across the Gulf Coast region . Along the east coast from Nova Scotia into Florida. They are also observed inland along the eastern coast. 

Food:Their main foods are arthropods, mostly insect larvae in fresh water and small crustaceans (shrimps, crabs, amphipods) in salt water. In fall many seeds of aquatic plants are eaten, and in winter small marine snails or freshwater clams are taken in their respective habitats.