GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK — As colder temperatures arrive, a flock of redhead ducks prepare to leave Grand Teton National Park’s Jackson Lake for warmer waters.
These redheaded birds migrate in flocks numbering into the thousands in early spring and late fall, according to Audubon.
Based on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s research, most redheads follow the Central Flyway towards the Laguna Madre along the Gulf of Mexico coast, where they can often be seen in saltwater during the winter months. Some flocks will also travel to Lake Erie or the coast of North Carolina.
“In the air, they give the impression of always being in a hurry,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wrote on its website.
In Wyoming, redheads are among the most social of duck species. They will often gather together in large numbers on big bodies of water, including lakes, reservoirs and bays. Their gregarious nature causes them to be easily drawn to decoys, making them a popular game species for hunters, according to Audubon.
Males have a distinctive cinnamon-red head with yellow eyes, gray body and black chest. The females are brownish overall, with a paler face. These adept deep water divers will primarily eat aquatic plants, seeds, mollusks and other invertebrates.
An unusual fact about the redheads is that the hens practice brood parasitism, meaning they will lay some of their eggs in the nests of other duck species and let them raise those hatchlings.
Redheads also differentiate themselves by emitting a unique meow sound, although they can also normally quack. Males will make a cat-like “whee-uogh” or “keyair” call when trying to court a female. When threatening another redhead, the males also emit a low, trilling “rrrrr.”
Audubon has recorded that redhead population numbers have decreased, which could be due to loss of nesting habitat.
