Ruddy Ducks-A Disney Cartoon Waiting to be Made

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When I think about Ruddy Ducks, and all their entertaining antics, I am amazed they haven’t yet been cast as the “loveable sidekick” in some Disney animation.  I saw my first Ruddy ducks years ago, on the Chesapeake when we lived in VA and it was love at first sight. They have a perky stiff tail (and how easy to remember, they are members of the Stiff Tailed group of ducks), and a bright sky-blue bill, chestnut sides and this stand-out, white cheek patch.  Then they do cool things like slowly sink out of sight rather than always dive out of sight.  And when it comes to winning the ladies, it seems the males have decided what the females really want in a man is someone who can blow a mean set of bubbles.    

I hadn’t seen any in years, and when I look at the map, I can see why; they aren’t visitors to the Cape, but here in TX they find their wintering grounds, so our trip to Lake Mitchell that weekend netted some great Ruddy duck viewing.  Now, we are a bit ahead of the breeding season so although the male had a blue bill, he didn’t have a BLUE bill, which will eventually become the color of a clear Kansas sky and those folks in Kansas are the most likely ones to see it. 

They breed in the many potholes of the Central Plains states, going through a ritual I would love to see one day.  The male, who has a neck thick enough to look like a wrestler beats his bill against his neck and somehow this results in frothy bubbles coming up from under the front of his body.  He also flips his bill making lovely water rings around himself.  So there he is, in a center of concentric circles, bubbles coming up around him, a la Lawrence Welk, and, if that isn’t enough, he tops off this display with a loving “belch”!

Then, perhaps to show off athleticism, he points that stiff tail downwards and “runs” across the water, making popping sounds with his feet.  Can’t you just picture the lady Ruddy Ducks swooning in his wake!  Really Disney, get on this!

His feeding habits are somewhat unique too; he dives to the bottom of ponds rich in plant and invertebrate life and scoops up the bottom mud straining the food out with his wide bill adapted for such feeding.  Whereas the Northern Shovelers we talked about in the last essay feed from the top of the pond, making those whirlpools to bring up the food, the Ruddy duck hits the bottom.  So everyone gets to use the same habitat and food source but in a slightly different way.  The Cornell Bird sight claims they often feed at night, which might be true for when we came upon them mid-day, they all had their bills tucked in and were sleeping.

Other cool things about them: their feet are placed so far back that they are great at powering down through the water, but Lord help them on land, very hard to walk at all.  And their wings are short and rounded, also good for underwater work, but in the air they must beat their wings frantically to stay aloft, prompting one person to comment that they were like huge duck- shaped hummingbirds! 

Their eggs are the largest in proportion to body sized among the ducks, pebbly in texture and the female may, in the end, lay eggs whose total weight is greater than her own.  She must feel pretty svelte when it is over.  And clever her, she often builds a dome over the nest to shield it from predators.

They were introduced to England, where they are considered an invasive and, it hurts me to say, are called, those “pushy American ducks” and I believe there is a bounty on their head there for they edge out one of the native species.  Somehow this “introducing” things, be they plant or animal, never works out. 

So, Mid-Westerners, keep your eye out, for this “Ruddy Duck Show” will soon be coming to a pothole near you.  If only they bred in what we Northerners call “potholes”; holes in the roads after harsh winters; we would surely have Ruddy ducks galore.  I have a feeling Disney scouts don’t read this blog, but if they do, perhaps we will all see a Ruddy Duck making it big in the cartoon world soon, “Little Duck on the Prairie” or some such thing.  We’ll watch for it and would it net me any creative royalties? It would help balance out all my non-gratis work here in Texas!