Winter takes toll on Ducks Ducks and other waterfowl from Wisconsin to New York have been starving at a very high rate, due to the harsh winter of 2013-14 that caused a large percentage of the Great Lakes to be covered in ice. As of Friday, March 21, there was 77 percent ice coverage on the five lakes, according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. The Great Lakes had up to 92 percent ice coverage in early March, the greatest ice cover there since 1979. The main cause of duck mortality is starvation on a scale not previously reported. Due to extensive ice cover and cold temperatures, diving ducks dont have access to the amount of food needed to sustain themselves. Bird watchers in western New York who have been birding since 1945 said they have never seen a die-off like this. Dead ducks are being observed along the near shore waters of Lake Erie and the Niagara River. The majority of the birds so far have been Red-Breasted Mergansers and Greater Scaup. Other birds affected include American Coots, Lesser Scaup, Common Mergansers, Long-Tailed Ducks, White-Winged Scoters, Bufflehead, Goldeneye, Canvasback, Redheads, Pied-Billed Grebes and Horned and Red-Necked Grebes.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 23:34:48 +0000
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