MYRIADS OF WATERFOWL

     November is THEE month to see dabbling ducks, geese and tundra swans in large numbers on the shallows of freshwater marshes, ponds and lakes across North America.  There they "tip-up" in the shallows to ingest aquatic greens, roots and seeds from the water and their bottoms.  

     Years ago, in winter, I visited, in person, wildlife refuges in and near home in southeastern Pennsylvania, and mostly saw big numbers of Canada geese, snow geese and tundra swans there.  In recent winters, I visit wildlife refuges via a live camera at each refuge and our home computer screen.  And during November of 2024, I saw hordes of northern pintail ducks, snow geese and white-fronted geese at the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge in Central California.  Masses of pintails and snow geese are the most populous waterfowl there in November.  In fact, I've seen more myriads of pintails in that 35,000-acre refuge this November than I ever saw before anywhere in my lifetime so far. 

     It's exciting to see hordes of pintails and snow geese take flight at once, which fills the air with large, noisy birds that block the view behind them in their vast, airborne numbers.  Some flocks of those birds swiftly fly this way while others fly that way, but never with collisions.  Some groups leave the water, while others are dropping to it, again without collisions.  Flock birds in flight must have quick reflexes to avoid bumping into each other.          

     Every winter, for years, I have watched for large flocks of pintails along the eastern seaboard, Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay, but always in vain.  I did see little groups of pintails here and there in winter in those areas, but not in the numbers I wanted to see them.  But I finally saw myriads of them daily in the shallow ponds at Sacramento Refuge.  And what a thrill it is to see those handsome, lively ducks in the water, resting on land and careening across the sky in little, swift groups!

     The attractive white-fronted geese are plentiful at the Sacramento Refuge every October, before pintails and snow geese arrive there.  But, it seems, many white-fronts move farther south to spend winter, leaving that refuge to the pintails and snow geese.

     Smaller numbers of dabbling ducks, including northern shovelers, American wigeons, gadwalls and green-winged teal, join the myriads of pintails on shallow ponds and the adjoining land.  Drake dabblers are quite attractive, each kind in its own way.  Their mates, in each species, however, are brown with darker patterns in their feathering.  Those females are camouflaged, which serves them particularly well when brooding eggs and raising ducklings.

     Some impoundments at Sacramento Refuge are packed "wall to wall" with dabbling ducks of these various kinds, but, especially with pintail ducks.  The marsh vegetation is quickly eaten and stamped down by their hungry hordes.     

     Off and on, all day, every day, groups of dabbling ducks fly onto, or out of, the shallow water marshes, blocking the view behind them with their great numbers.  They fill the air over the refuge, some right in front of the camera, some in the distance and others in between.  And still other gangs of dabblers circle the marshes before landing on them.  All this creates a dizzying, intriguing, exciting spectacle.

     Sacramento Wildlife Refuge in California in November is an exciting place to experience, even by a live camera and a computer screen, mostly because of northern pintails and snow geese.  But other creatures are seen there as well, which helps make the area even more intriguing.