OPPapers.com

Mallards Vs. Bufflehead Ducks

Early to Rise
Getting up early, putting on the hot coffee, and getting the duck decoys together are the beginning of a morning filled with duck hunting. This was my morning on October 19, 2008 where we headed to the duck blind on Muskegon Lake. To be more specific it was in Snug Harbor. The morning brought a stiff breeze that was about 15 to 20 M.P.H, and a temperature of about 42 degrees and clear skies. While hunting that morning I saw something that I was unsure about. I noticed after seeing many Mallard ducks that they were landing is shallow water near the tall cattails while the Buffleheads were landing in the middle of the harbor. Also the Mallard ducks were much more abundant, and rafted in larger groups than the Bufflehead. Why are there are so many more mallards, and why do they like the shallow water better then the Bufflehead Ducks?
Hypothesis
As a new duck hunter of last year, many things ran through my head in why this is happening. My conclusion is that Mallard ducks are much more abundant in Michigan then Bufflehead ducks. Too I think that Bufflehead like to be alone that’s why they tend to land in the deeper water. I also think Mallard’s group together because they are competing for the same food source.
The Mallard duck is the most common duck in North America. There have been groups such as the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) that has been made to protect and restore the duck populations (Day 4). Michigan is in what’s known as the Mississippi flyway. The Mississippi flyway has the heaviest Mallard count out of all the other flyways in the United States (Buckley 1). They also have the longest migration period that runs from late summer to early winter. The Mallard has many names other than its “original” name such as greenhead, curly tail, and also puddle ducks. It can be recognized by its distinguishing green head, it also has white around the neck and brown to rusty colored breasts. The hen is light brown with a white...