Winter is the best time of year to get acquainted with the many ducks and other wildfowl that we see on our ponds, lakes, rivers and wetlands. Many of our winter wildfowl will be migrating south from Northern Europe back to their wintering grounds in the UK and our wetland nature reserves provide a perfect habitat for their winter stay. This is due, in part, to the food available for them there, but also the way in which the habitats can accommodate the different ways that they feed. Wildfowl can be easily divided into two main feeding groups - divers and dabblers.

Simply put, divers dive under the surface of the water and dabblers dabble on and around the surface. Both can be found side-by-side on many of our reserves, but it is this difference in feeding behaviour between species that can help you to identify them.

Identifying Divers and Dabblers

Divers, such as the Tufted Duck, Pochard and Goldeneye, are often found on larger and deeper bodies of water where they can dive far down under the water to feed on a variety of fish, insects, molluscs and plants. These ducks will use their strong webbed feet (and sometimes even their wings) to swim. Sawbills, like the Goosander, are a group of diving ducks that will often chase and catch small fish under the water! The Sawbills, as the name suggests, have a thin, saw-like bill which helps them snatch hold of their prey under water.

Dabblers, such as the Mallard, Gadwall and Shoveler, are common on all bodies of water and are often seen with their ‘bottoms-up’ feeding in the shallows. They will tend to feed on aquatic plants, seeds, molluscs and insects either on or just beneath the water’s surface. When dabblers are ‘bottoms-up’ they will be perpendicular to the surface of the water and able to stretch their necks to reach down to nibble on plants and other submerged food. You may see them wagging their tails or kicking their feet in order to keep balance as they do this. The Shoveler lives up to its name by digging through the mud with its shovel-like bill, turning up plant matter and insects.

Our nature reserves at Tring Reservoirs, King’s Meads, Stocker’s Lake and Hilfield Park Reservoir are some of the best places to spot winter wildfowl in our area.

Male and female wildfowl of the same species can look remarkably different but they will use the same method of feeding, which helps with identification. Male Mallards show a grey and brown body with a striking emerald green head and yellow bill; whereas the females are a patchwork of shades of brown with an orange/brown bill. This is a phenomenon known as ‘sexual dimorphism’ which occurs in most wildfowl species. Winter is the best time to start learning how to identify wildfowl as many have migrated south to overwinter in the UK. Towards the end of winter the males often start to moult and display more vibrant and showy breeding plumage before they head back to their breeding grounds. Females can be a little trickier to tell apart, so starting with the males could be a good first step!

Please don’t feed the ducks

Feeding ducks has long been viewed as a fun activity, particularly for families. However, this can have a negative effect on the health and welfare of our local wildlife.

Please rest assured that the wildfowl on our nature reserves will have a sufficient and varied diet from the habitat around them. Supplementary feeding is therefore not necessary and we ask you not to feed them.

Find out more

Discover more about the species mentioned and other waterfowl species on the Wildlife Explorer pages of our website here.