Just Duckie: Ducks Detecting Daylength Photo: Dave Rintoul, Patuxent Bird ID Info Center Right now ducks are starting their journey north. Except when landing, they flap their wings continually as they fly. Nonstop flapping takes a lot of energy, so these birds must pause along the migration route to rest and feed. Throughout the continent, birders are reporting the new arrivals. Be one of those birders! How many different species can you find? How many are alone, how many in pairs, how many in small groups, and how many in flocks? Are all the ducks in the water? Can you find any ducks in other places? Virtually all ducks are in their adult plumage now, so use plumage as a clue to help you count males and females. Wherever you see the birds, notice their movement behaviors and patterns. For example, what movements do they make when they feed? Flock? Fly? Many ducks spent their winter in North America. Their migratory restlessness seems to develop as a combination of opening water and increasing daylength. It can be tricky for us to figure out which individual ducks arrived from farther south and which were nearby all winter, but we CAN watch one sure sign of spring. At the same time that they're migrating, drakes (male ducks) that don't already have a mate are trying to attract one. It's fun watching drakes try to get the attention of hens. Some use bright feathers and noisy quacks to impress females, but one, the Common Goldeneye, has a spectacular mating display. Here's a description of the courtship written by Dr. Charles W. Townsend in 1910: "One or more males swim restlessly back and forth and around a female. The feathers of the cheeks and crest of the male are so erected that the head looks large and round, the neck correspondingly small. As he swims along, the duck's head is thrust out in front close to the water, occasionally dabbling at it. Suddenly he springs forward, elevating his breast, and at the same time he enters on the most typical and essential part of the performance. The neck is stretched straight up, and the bill, pointing to the zenith, is opened to emit a harsh, rasping double note, "zzee-at"? The head is then quickly snapped back until the occiput (back of the head) touches the rump, whence it is brought forward again with a jerk to the normal position. As the head is returned to its place the bird often springs forward kicking the water in a spurt out behind, and displaying like a flash of flame the orange-colored legs." Could YOU move like this duck? Maybe not...but you CAN move like some ducks and other migratory birds. Read on to hear about the fun some students are having as they track duck and geese migration with professional dancers this spring! Move Like the Birds! Join Students in an Online Navigational Dance Project In spring 2004, Bird Brain Dance Company will follow the migration route of ducks and geese. Lucky students in partner schools along the route will work with the company's professional dancers as the dancers travel the migration route. They start in Corpus Christi on March 10 and end in Canada's Whiteshell Province State Park in May. The participating classrooms along the route will post data and share writing, videos, photos, artwork and observations as they learn about bird navigation and physiology during the project. At the same time, the students will learn more about their own navigational skills. YOU CAN JOIN THEM on the Bird Brain Website! In the meantime, have a go at some fun activities the students will do during the project: Experiment with moving your body to show different types of flight patterns. Use your arms and body to show the effects of flapping, gliding, bounding, and soaring. Make spirals in space and spirals in your body, then try doing a spiraling/soaring dance. Choose three different moves you have observed in one bird. Try them out. Make them larger or smaller. Make up a solo dance by repeating the movements you see in the birds and arranging them in different sequences of movement or "phrases." Try moving the phrases through space and interacting with other classmate's phrases. Choreograph a "bird movement" dance by deciding who moves where and when—based on what you see the birds do. Enjoy each other's works! *All activities used with permission of Jennifer Monson, Bird Brain Dance. Thank you! Try This! Journaling Questions When nesting begins, duck counts change. Name at least two different reasons why we usually count more male than female ducks in spring. To have a stable population, ducks must raise many more eggs (up to 12) than, say, loons. Why do you think this is true? After you write your thoughts, compare them with ours. Copyright 2004 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form