Diving ducks abound in Washington’s marine waters and can be seen all winter long, says Conservancy biologist Jo Smith. Just in time for Valentine's Day, you can find buffleheads, the smallest diving duck in North America, gathering on freshwater lakes and ponds for their courtship displays.

In Seattle, good places to find them are the duck pond near the lighthouse in Discovery Park, or at Green Lake.

Courtship and Mating Displays

Courtship displays are performed at all seasons except during molt and early fall. Fly-overs, splashing, head-bobbing are all behaviors that we can witness.

Watch Jo explain the courting behavior of male and female buffleheads in this video!

In the summer, buffleheads leave the ocean and fly north to their breeding grounds. Most buffleheads breed in Canada and Alaska, but some nest in eastern Washington, breeding at Turnbull Wildlife Refuge near Spokane, and at Big Meadow Lake in Pend Oreille County.

More About the Bufflehead

From Cornell University’s All About Birds Web site, and Seattle Audubon’s Bird Web, we learn:

• The Bufflehead nests almost exclusively in holes excavated by northern flickers and, on occasion, by pileated woodpeckers. Its small size enables it to take advantage of these small nesting cavities.
   
• Unlike most ducks, the Bufflehead is mostly monogamous, often remaining with the same mate for several years. Females will return to the same nesting site year after year as well.
   
• The Bufflehead lays eggs more slowly than most other ducks, commonly with intervals of two or three days between eggs. The young are usually ready to leave the nest within about 36 hours. Territorial disputes between females with young often end up with the winning female going away with more or perhaps all of the young.
   
• Buffleheads are among the few species of ducks whose numbers have dramatically increased since the mid-1950s, when over-hunting was a significant factor. Protection from and regulation of hunting have helped these birds. Habitat degradation, on the other hand, has eliminated nesting habitat.
  
  
  
  
  
   

Nature picture credits (left to right): Photo © Jo Smith (female bufflehead); Photo © Jo Smith (bufflehead), Photo © Fred Walsh (bufflehead mating display), Photo © Fred Walsh (bufflehead mating display), Photo © Fred Walsh (bufflehead in flight), Photo © TNC (Jo Smith)