Do all ducks fly south for the winter?

Question

We've had some pretty bad weather where I live lately. I live by water, and most of it has frozen over. As we drive by a part of the river, I noticed that in between the ice there were patches of water. Floating around on these patches were ducks. This confuses me, I was always under the impression that ducks migrate.

Answer 1

Ducks do migrate. The birds that you see in winter are birds that summer farther north, even up into the arctic. Where the birds winter depends on food and open water. Here in Texas we can tell if there is a milder winter up north by the numbers of ducks and gulls. Migration doesn't occur in just one flight. Birds move around all winter long. Some birds tend to go farther south than others.

My husband does surveys of gull numbers in his capacity as an environmental consultant. If he sees a serious cold front coming he will schedule his research for those days as he will see a lot more birds.

Answer 2

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Ducks have been known to fly south for the winter because they need a warmer climate in order to survive. If the weather isn't going to get too cold, the ducks will most likely to stay put. The ducks seem to know whether or not they need to fly south for the winter.

Answer 3

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RE:
Do all ducks fly south for the winter?
We've had some pretty bad weather where I live lately. I live by water, and most of it has frozen over. As we drive by a part of the river, I noticed that in between the ice there were patches of water. Floating around on these patches were ducks. This confuses me, I was always under the...

Answer 4

Some ducks are more lazy than other ducks. Some fly just far enough south to find open water where there is ample food. Ducks and all other birds are creatures of habit. If they winter in a certain location, they will return there year after year. They also return to the same summer location year after year. Their philosopy is, "It is better to go where I know there is food than to chance not finding any somewhere else." For 4 springs running I had the same two Mallards stop by my house for the month of May every year.

Answer 5

The ducks of North America migrate south. You will see them on open bodies of water on iced over lakes, during winter. That's common. But the next day those ducks could be in a rice field in Arkansas or a salt flat in Florida. Ducks rarely stay in one place very long. They commonly move north and south along their migration routes. If the weather allows they fly back to the north. If there is a hard freeze and lots of snow, they fly all the way to Mexico or South America.

The only reason you'll see ducks staying in areas where it's iced over is because someone is feeding them.

Answer 6

I have read that the reason that a lot of ducks are staying put is that they have been finding food ok. I am not a duck lover necessarily, but I have wondered what would happen if a really large part of the country had an exceptionally cold and long winter. Would a lot of ducks, birds die ? I hate to see any creatures suffer. Cardinals(red birds) are my favorite, and I love seeing them year round, especially winter when they really stand out. I have a park behind my house and a lot of Cardinals live there.

Answer 7

Only ducks that spend their summers in the northern temperate zones fly south for the winter. Ducks who live in warmer climates closer to the equator have no need to migrate, and ducks who live in southern temperate zones fly *north* for the winter (which occurs during the northern summer).

Answer 8

Domestic ducks such as found on farms, do not migrate and some of them cannot even fly. We need them to stay put though because they are so beneficial in keeping the tick and grasshopper population under control. I have kept Mallards, white ducks and an irredescent green one which I cannot remember the name of. They make excellent pets too.

Answer 9

Not in Australia. They would end up in Antarctica and freeze to death. Our ducks fly north to Queensland. Only joking ! They stay where they are. Our climate is obviously very mild.

Answer 10

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