The Bufflehead is a small species of duck that lives across much of North America. They breed across much of Canada and spend the winter further south, from the West Coast of the US through the Rockies and the Great Plains and parts of the southeast. They also winter in parts of Mexico and the Caribbean.
Buffleheads are cavity nesters, using tree cavities, often created by Northern Flicker woodpeckers, or nest boxes, for breeding.
Buffleheads are diving ducks, meaning that they dive under the water when feeding. They feed in freshwater or saltwater, dining on different prey depending on the type of water.
The Bufflehead is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and was last assessed in 2012 by BirdLife International. This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Contributing to citizen Science projects helps our collective knowledge, but it also helps us as individuals learn. We'd like to highlight some citizen science projects in which families can participate. If you know of a project that we could highlight on our blog, please let us know! The... Read more »
With their special water-resistant plumage, ducks are made for water. But did you know that several species of duck actually require trees when it comes to breeding? Some ducks are cavity nesters. We've recently added one of these cute little cavity-nesting ducks to Birdorable. The Bufflehead is... Read more »
