A circumpolar species, northern pintails breed across Alaska, Canada and the Northern Plains of the U.S., where they nest in open wetlands. Come fall, they head to coastal and southern portions of the U.S. and Mexico, where they winter on both fresh and brackish waters; some pintails that breed in Siberia are known to winter in North America.
Feeding primarily on seeds, grain and aquatic vegetation in winter, these long-necked ducks also consume a host of aquatic invertebrates and small fish during the warmer months. Male pintails are easily identified by their long, slender, white necks and distinctive head stripe, in addition to the long, pointed tail for which they are named (this pin-like tail is most prominent during the breeding season).
Among the earliest ducks to migrate northward in spring, these handsome ducks move in concert with the retreating ice and snow. Indeed, I was fortunate to observe forty northern pintails at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area this morning, just another sign that, almost two months past the winter solstice, spring is underway. Then again, snow is forecast for tomorrow as another polar air mass invades the Heartland.
Feeding primarily on seeds, grain and aquatic vegetation in winter, these long-necked ducks also consume a host of aquatic invertebrates and small fish during the warmer months. Male pintails are easily identified by their long, slender, white necks and distinctive head stripe, in addition to the long, pointed tail for which they are named (this pin-like tail is most prominent during the breeding season).
Among the earliest ducks to migrate northward in spring, these handsome ducks move in concert with the retreating ice and snow. Indeed, I was fortunate to observe forty northern pintails at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area this morning, just another sign that, almost two months past the winter solstice, spring is underway. Then again, snow is forecast for tomorrow as another polar air mass invades the Heartland.
