Spring Migration Arrival: Buffleheads

As winter gives way to the first hints of spring, the arrival of migratory birds at Carillon Stonegate Pond begins. One of the most interesting visitors are the Buffleheads. These small ducks, with their eye-catching black-and-white feathers (males), bring a lot of energy and color to the peaceful pond. Watching Buffleheads during their spring migration is a rare treat, offering plenty of delightful moments for bird fans and anyone who loves nature.

Identification: The Bufflehead is a small, chubby duck with striking black-and-white plumage. Males have a white body, black back, and a dark head with a large white patch. Up close, their heads reveal glossy iridescent green and purple colors. They have blue-gray bills and pink webbed feet. Females are gray-brown with a white cheek patch. Buffleheads are about thirteen inches long, with a wingspan of twenty-one and a half inches. Males weigh around sixteen ounces, and females about eleven ounces.

Male Bufflehead

Habitat at Carillon Stonegate Pond: The sighting of Buffleheads in this area is not common. However, they may be observed early in the spring season. These birds can be seen on the surface of the ponds before diving below for food, repeating this activity approximately every twenty seconds throughout the day.

Flight Patterns: Buffleheads have a rapid wing beat and fly with a side-to-side rocking motion. They primarily forage on the water during the day and typically fly at night.

Behavior: Buffleheads are active ducks that spend their time preening, swimming, diving, perching, flying, and foraging. They rarely walk on land. During courtship, males impress females by flying over them, stopping abruptly on water with raised crests, and bobbing their heads. In the breeding season, they are territorial and attack intruders by flying or swimming at them underwater, thrashing with wings. Paired birds show “following” behavior where the female swims behind the male, with each stretching their necks in opposite directions.

Female and male Bufflehead

Diet: Buffleheads hunt aquatic invertebrates, crustaceans, and mollusks, usually swallowing their food underwater. They stay on the surface for around 12 seconds between dives, and remain underwater for 10 to 20 seconds. Buffleheads forage in shallow waters over sparse vegetation or mudflats exposed at low tide. In freshwater, they primarily eat larvae of damselfly, dragonfly, midge, mayfly, and caddisfly, larger zooplankton such as amphipods, snails and clams. In fall and winter, they consume seeds of pondweeds and bulrushes.

Residence: Buffleheads are native to North America, with summer breeding ranges in central Alaska, southern Canada, and the northern United States. They rely on Northern Flickers for nesting cavities, using old nests that larger ducks cannot fit into.

Bufflehead starting flight

Breeding and Nesting: Buffleheads are secondary-cavity nesters, using holes made by Northern Flickers, usually ten feet above ground. They breed from late April to mid-May. Females lay about nine eggs and incubate them for 30 days. The chicks leave the nest two days after hatching, led by the female to water, and take their first flight within two months.

Migration: Buffleheads are medium-distance migrants. Those that breed west of the Rockies migrate to the Pacific Coast, while those breeding in central Canada migrate eastward to the Atlantic Coast or as far south as the Gulf Coast. They undertake their fall migration relatively late, whereas their spring migration extends over a prolonged period. Buffleheads typically migrate in small flocks and predominantly at night.

Conservation Status: Bufflehead populations are currently stable. They are classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List and do not have special status on US government lists. The North American Waterfowl Management Plan (2012) estimated the continental population at 1.67 million birds.

Male Bufflehead

Vocalizations: Buffleheads are generally quiet. During mating displays, they produce a low chattering sound. Here is a link to the sounds of the Bufflehead.

Interesting Facts:

• The Bufflehead is the smallest diving or sea duck in North America.

• The name buffalo head, or "bufflehead" is a direct reference to the duck's large-headed appearance.

• The Bufflehead nests almost exclusively in holes excavated by Northern Flickers and, on occasion, by Pileated Woodpeckers.

• Unlike most ducks, the Bufflehead is mostly monogamous, often remaining with the same mate for several years.

• The oldest known Bufflehead lived almost 18 years.

• Bufflehead fossils from the late Pleistocene (about 500,000 years ago) have been found in several states, including Illinois.

​For more information on Buffleheads and sources of information used in this blog (these are the sources that I am using to learn as I blog), please visit All About Birds, Audubon Society, University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web, and the Nature Mapping Foundation.  And the Cornell Lab of Ornithology provides a wonderful source of information for anyone interested in learning more about birds.

​We all benefit from the variety of wetland, forest, and prairie environments that support diverse wildlife, plants, and insects of Carillon Stonegate Pond.

Take a hike and see what you can find – and identify!