Wintering Sea Ducks

     Several kinds of ducks winter on the salt water of the western coast of the north Atlantic Ocean, along the shores of the United States and Canada.  Those ducks wintering in flocks in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, sounds, inlets off the ocean and on the ocean itself near the shores can often be seen from land with the aid of binoculars and scopes.  Those sea ducks include harlequin ducks, long-tailed ducks, common, white-winged and surf scoters, common and king eiders, and red-breasted mergansers.
     The drakes of all these duck species are attractive to intimidate other males of their respective kinds, and attract females of their species for mating and reproduction.  But the hens of all these species are plain, which blends them into their habitats while brooding eggs and raising ducklings.
     These ducks of big waters have legs toward the rears of their bodies for more efficient swimming, particularly underwater where their food is.  But they can barely walk on land and must run across long stretches of water while flapping their wings to get airborne.  All these duck species are tied to bigger bodies of brackish and salt water in winter and spend winter nights in the watery niches where they feed by day.  They are all well feathered to shed water and keep out the cold.
     These ducks mostly consume mollusks, especially blue mussels, small crustaceans and small fish.  One would think they would be in competition with each other for food, but they reduce rivalry for it by exploiting different niches in the oceans and their salty or brackish back waters.
     Male harlequin ducks are beautiful.  They are mostly gray, with rufous flanks and black and white markings among he gray.  Females are brown with white markings on each side of the head.  Harlequins generally winter in little groups along the shoreline surf close to boulders and rock jetties.  These small ducks mostly eat blue mussels and other mollusks, barnacles and crustaceans they scrape off under water rocks.   
     Both genders of long-tailed ducks are handsome in winter with their white and chocolate patterned feathering.  Drakes have long tail feathers, hence their common name.  Big wintering gatherings of this species feeds on mollusks and crustaceans in tidal rips and shallow shoals along the coast where breakers pound the beaches. 
     Flocks of common, white-winged and surf scoters ingest mollusks and crustaceans in deeper water beyond the breakers in bays, sounds and the ocean not far from shore.  Drakes of all these closely related species are mostly black, but male surf scoters have white markings on their heads.
     Large rafts of common and king eiders winter on the north Atlantic Ocean.  Drakes of both kinds are colorful while their mates are brown.  A field guide to American birds will illustrate the beauties of all these ducks.  Both eider species eat mollusks and crabs, the kings farther out in the ocean, which reduces competition between these cousins for the same food.  And both kinds spend cold winter nights bobbing on the ocean.
     Loose gatherings of red-breasted mergansers winter on estuaries and sounds where they feed on small fish and have thin, serrated beaks to catch their finny prey.  Both genders of this species have shaggy crests, which help in identifying them.       
     Though not always close enough to shore to be spotted and identified, sometimes these wintering sea ducks are, thrilling birders.  These ducks are tough and energetic in diving under water to get food through each winter.  And they do so in different niches, which reduces competition among them.