Waterbirds and Shorebirds

Waterbirds have adapted to an aquatic environment in a variety of ways. They are generally strong swimmers with waterproof feathers and webbed feet. Some, like the common loon, may dive deep into the water to hunt for fish, while others, like the mallard, dip their heads underwater to graze on plants beneath the surface. They are often as comfortable in the air as on water, and many species migrate long distances for breeding and nesting seasons. Lake Roosevelt provides aquatic habitat for many waterbirds who live in the area year-round, as well as those just stopping by as they migrate.

Shorebirds make use of aquatic environments in a different way, staying closer to the beaches, marshy mudflats, and pebbly shores. Shorebirds generally share certain body shapes, such as long legs for wading into shallow waters and long bills adapted to finding and eating invertebrate prey. Lake Roosevelt provides ample shoreline habitat for shorebirds to feed and nest.

 

 

Waterbirds

 

American coot

Macaulay Library, CLO, Christoph Moning

American Coot

Fulica americana

• Dark gray or black birds with a bright-white bill and forehead; legs are yellow-green; small patch of red on the forehead visible at close range

• Found in ponds, lakes, marshes, and reservoirs

• Omnivorous diet primarily plant material and algae, as well as insects, tadpoles, fish, worms, snails, and crayfish

• Requires long running takeoffs to get airborne from water

 

Male bufflehead

NPS Photo

Bufflehead

Bucephala albeola

• Adult males have a white body, black back, and dark head with a large white patch wrapping around the back of the head. Females and first-year males are gray-brown overall with an oval, white cheek patch. In flight adult males have a large white patch on the upperwing

• North America’s smallest diving duck

• Found on ponds, lakes, impoundments, or bays along slow-moving rivers during winter or spring migration

• Feeds on aquatic invertebrates, crustaceans, and mollusks by diving

• Dives last on average 12 seconds long, rarely more than 25 seconds

 

Canada goose

Max McCarthy, Macaulay Library, CLO

Canada Goose

Branta canadensis

• Easily identified by their clear honking call and v-shaped formation when flying
• Long neck, black head with white markings under-chin markings; faded brown body
• Depending on their upbringing, they can be migrating or resident (non-migrating); resident populations have gone up, particularly in urban areas
• Prefer to nest and lay eggs in areas with water, such as marshes or shoreline
• Adult geese remain a mating pair for the rest of their lives; if one dies, the remaining goose will find a new mate

 

• Canada Geese

  
  

  Sound recording of Canada geese, National Park Service

  Credit / Author:

  NPS

  Date created:

  10/14/2020

 

Common loon in summer plumage

© Ron Wolf

Common Loon

Gavia immer

• Summer adults are regally patterned in black and white; in winter, they are plain gray above and white below

• Found on large lakes and reservoirs that remain ice-free during the winter with enough surface area for their flapping-and-running takeoffs across the water

• Diet consists mainly of small fish, and occasionally crustaceans, mollusks, aquatic insects, leeches, and frogs

• Stealthy divers, submerging without a splash to catch prey

 

• Common Loon

  
  

  Common loons make a series of tremelo calls on Yellowstone Lake

  Credit / Author:

  NPS & MSU Acoustic Atlas/Jennifer Jerrett

  Date created:

  10/14/2020

 

Common Merganser

© Keith Watson

Common Merganser

Mergus merganser

• Adult males have white bodies and dark, iridescent-green heads with a black back and red bill during breeding season; male nonbreeding plumage looks similar to female plumage. Females are gray-bodied with a white chest and rusty-cinnamon heads.

• Lives mainly on freshwater rivers and lakes

• Nests in natural tree cavities or holes carved out by woodpeckers

• Eats primarily fish, as well as aquatic invertebrates

 

Eared grebe

NPS Photo

Eared Grebe

Podiceps nigricollis

• Breeding birds mostly black with chestnut flanks and golden plumes fanning out from behind a bright red eye. Nonbreeding birds are grayish black overall with gray cheeks, whitish necks, and the dark crown extends down past their red eye

• Breeds in shallow lakes and ponds. During migration and in winter, prefers saltwater

• Feeds on aquatic invertebrates, especially brine shrimp and brine flies along with the occasional small fish, mollusk, or amphibiana

• Captures prey by diving underwater, pecking at the surface, or dipping their head just under the surface of the water

 

Male Green-winged teals

USFWS/Tom Koerner

Green-winged Teal

Anas crecca

• Adult males have grayish bodies with a narrow white vertical stripe extending from the waterline to the shoulder; heads are cinnamon-color with a wide green swoop from the eye to the back of the neck. Females are brown with a yellow streak along the tail. Both sexes have green wing patches, which may be hidden when not in flight

• Found in shallow freshwater lakes and marshes. Nesting sites include grasslands or sedge meadows that provide brush for cover

• Feeds on aquatic invertebrates and seeds

• Tips head underwater to feed, and occasionally dives for food or to avoid predators

 

Male mallard

NPS Photo

Mallard

Anas platyrhynchos

• Male mallards have a dark, iridescent-green head and bright yellow bill, gray body, brown breast, and black rear. Females and juveniles are mottled brown with orange-and-brown bills. Both sexes have a white-bordered, blue patch in the wing

• Can be found in almost any wetland habitats, including lakes, reservoirs, ponds, marshes, bogs, city parks, and estuaries

• Generalist foragers, will eat a wide variety of food including seeds, stems, roots, sedges, grasses, pondweeds, insects, crustaceans, mollusks, tadpoles, frogs, earthworms, and small fish

• Feeds in the water by dipping forward with their head underwater to graze on underwater plants

 

Shorebirds

 

American dipper

NPS/Jacob W. Frank

American Dipper

Cinclus mexicanus

• Adults are dark gray all over, slightly more brownish around the head, with pink legs and black bill

• Found along fast-flowing mountain streams, using boulders and large woody debris for perches

• Feeds on aquatic insects and insect larvae such as caddisflies, mayflies, stoneflies, midges, and mosquitoes

• Unique foraging style consists of diving beneath water and walking along the streambed, often with wings outstretched to give traction against the current

 

Great blue heron

NPS/Volunteer Rusty Wilson

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

• Appears blue-gray from a distance, with a wide black stripe over the eye. In flight, the upper side of the wing is two-toned: pale on the forewing and darker on the flight feathers

• Both sexes average 38.2-53.9 inches in length, 74.1-88.2 oz in weight, with a wingspan of 65.8-79.1 inches

• Found in marshes, swamps, shores, tideflats. Forages in any kind of calm fresh waters, slow-moving rivers, and shallow coastal bays; nests in trees or shrubs near water

• Varied diet includes fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, insects, and other birds

• Uses dagger-like bills to impale larger fish

 

Greater yellowlegs

NPS Buck Mangipane

Greater Yellowlegs

Tringa melanoleuca

• Tall shorebird with bright yellow legs; during breeding season, they have dense, dark bands on the breast and neck; other times of the year, they have black and white speckling on the back, with a finely streaked neck and head

• Found in a variety of wetland habitats

• Eats primarily aquatic invertebrates, and occasionally small frogs and fish

• Walks with a distinctive high-stepping gait across wetlands when foraging

 

Killdeer

Macaulay Library, CLO, Davey Walters

Killdeer

Charadrius vociferus

• Named for the shrill, wailing “kill-deer” call they give

•  Round head, large eyes, and long legs; brownish tan on top and white below; white chest is barred with two black bands, and brown face is marked with black and white patches

• Lives near freshwater ponds and muddy lagoons; can also be found on land in open grassland habitats, sandbars, and mudflats

• Feeds primarily on invertebrates, such as earthworms, snails, crayfish, grasshoppers, beetles, and aquatic insect larvae

 

• Killdeer

  
  

  A killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) chorus near Anemone Geyser on Geyser Hill in the Upper Geyser Basin. Stereo recording.

  Credit / Author:

  NPS/Peter Comley

  Date created:

  10/14/2020

 

Sandhill cranes

NPS Photo

Sandhill Crane

Antigone canadensis

• Slate gray with a rusty coloring on the upperparts; pale cheeks, red skin on the crown, and black legs

• Breeds in open wetland habitats surrounded by shrubs or trees; Nests in marshes, bogs, wet meadows, prairies, burned-over aspen stands, and other moist habitats, preferring those with standing water

• Seen in the park during sandhill crane migration

• Omnivorous diet heavy in seeds and grains, as well as berries, tubers, small vertebrates, and invertebrates; feeds on land or in shallow marshes, probing the surface with its bill

• Mates for life; chooses their partners based on dancing displays

 

• Sandhill Cranes

  
  

  Sandhill cranes call out as they fly overhead. Sandhill cranes are most often found in the park during the summer.

  Credit / Author:

  NPS / Shan Burson

  Date created:

  10/14/2020

 

Spotted sandpiper

NPS Volunteer Rusty Wilson

Spotted Sandpiper

Actitis macularius

• Bold dark spots on a white breast, dark brown back, and orange bill during breeding season; in winter, plain white with grayish brown back and pale yellow bill; in flight, a thin white stripe along the wing is visible

• Common near most kinds of freshwater, particularly pebbly lake shores, ponds, stream sides

• Feeds on wide variety of insects, crustaceans, other invertebrates

• Females establish and defend territory while males incubate eggs and raise the young

 

• Spotted Sandpiper (call)

  
  

  Spotted Sandpiper call recorded in Endovalley in Rocky Mountain National Park.

  Credit / Author:

  J. Job

  Date created:

  10/14/2020

 

Wilson's snipe

NPS Photo

Wilson's Snipe

Gallinago delicata

• Intricately patterned in buff and brown stripes and bars; dark back has three long buff streaks; lighter chest is streaked and spotted with brown; in flight, the wings are dark above and below

• Found in wet, marshy habitats, including bogs, fens, alder and willow swamps, wet meadows, and along rivers and ponds

• Feeds mainly on insect larvae, including crane flies, horseflies and deer flies, beetles, dragonflies, crickets, grasshoppers, ants, mayflies, butterflies, caddis flies and moths

• Finds food by burying their long bills deep into soft, wet soil to probe for prey; The bill’s flexible tip can open to grasp food while the base of the bill stays closed