By Tony Gazso, Interpretive Naturalist

Winter doesn’t mean an end to bird migration. For many birds, Lake County is the place to be. Many birds including ducks and geese come to Ohio specificaly for the winter. That’s right–many birds come to Ohio when most of us would rather be somewhere warmer. One such group of birds is waterfowl including ducks and geese. Ducks can be divided into two main categories: dabbling and diving. In this final part of a three part series we’ll be looking at a special group of diving ducks that are typically found out at sea, as well as the duck’s close relative the goose. Don’t forget to check out the previous installments if you missed them! Let’s begin with geese. Geese are essentially large dabbling ducks, eating vegetation at or near the water’s surface. 
 
Canada Goose: We begin with probably the most common and certainly the most recognizable–the Canada goose. Although many of us find Canada geese to be annoying pests, we really have no one to blame for that but ourselves. Many populations of Canada goose have become non migratory over the years because interactions with humans have provided enough food that they don't have to depart the region every spring. These populations remain year round and are the ones crossing our streets and leaving their “presence” for us to find. Meanwhile, populations that are still migratory aren’t coming down as far south as they used to thanks to the growing numbers of resident Canada geese.

Canada goose

Cackling Goose: This goose looks like a miniature version of the Canada goose, and that’s because until fairly recently it was considered simply a subspecies of the Canada goose. The cackling goose is a less common visitor to our area and is usually seen mixed in with groups of Canada geese. Look for a goose about 2/3 the size of a Canada with a short, stubby bill.

Cackling goose

Snow Goose: If you’re outside between now and February and hear a distant honking, you just may see a huge “V” high, high up in the sky. Snow geese are white birds with black wingtips that migrate by the hundreds, sometimes even thousands. Though less common in our area, don’t immediately discount a large white goose as a domestic one! If it has a pink bill and black wingtips, it is a snow goose!

Snow goose

Greater White-fronted Goose: The last goose on our list is probably the least common one in our area. Like the snow and cackling geese, the greater white-fronted goose is typically a goose of the Great Plains and Mississippi River Valley, and only rarely makes its way to our region. Look for a goose with a pink bill, white patch at the base of the bill and a grayish brown body.

Greater white-fronted goose

Our next few birds are diving ducks more common to the open oceans. As such, when these so-called sea ducks wander inland during winter, they primarily stick to the open waters of the Great Lakes.
 
Long-tailed Duck: Probably the most common of the less common sea ducks, the long-tailed duck is a small, very attractive white, black and gray duck. it gets its name from the long tail of the male, and can dive up to 200 feet deep in search of crustaceans and mollusks, which means they can feed off the bottom of Lake Erie!

Long-tailed duck

Harlequin Duck: A rarer visitor to Lake Erie, the harlequin duck is a smaller duck with an intricate design of brown and black with white accents. The female is more subtle in pattern and is sometimes mistaken for the female bufflehead at first glance. These ducks are found in the Atlantic, but are most common from the Pacific Northwest up to Alaska.

Harlequin duck

Black Scoter: The first of three scoter species, the male black scoter is all black with a bright orange knob at the base of its bill, while females are a more subdued brown-gray. Look for them off the shore of Lake Erie. Of course, a spotting scope for all these sea ducks would be a very helpful tool.

Black scoter

White-winged Scoter: A strange-looking duck, the white-winged scoter has a heavy sloping bill and visible white wing patches. Males have a white mark surrounding their eyes while females have two white spots on their faces.

White-winged scoter

Surf Scoter: One of the strangest looking ducks, the surf scoter features a knobby bill that’s orange, white and black. They have a white forehead patch and another white patch on the back of their necks. Females, as is typical of ducks, are a duller gray-brown. Unlike many birds, surf scoters molt after they migrate rather than before.

Surf scoter

While certainly not an exhaustive list, these are the waterfowl most likely to be seen in our area. I hope you enjoyed our three part look at some of the winter waterfowl you can find in our area. Next time you’re out this winter, take a look at the birds floating on the water. Maybe you’ll see something you never noticed before!