CAPE COD: A DUCKY PLACE TO BE (11/23/01)

There are many advantages to living on Cape Cod, and one of the prime ones is the number of fresh water ponds that dot the Cape. In all seasons they provide pleasure to passersby and those fortunate enough to reside on them. From October to early spring (if ice doesn’t form solidly on them), many of these ponds host a variety of swans, geese and ducks.

Neither Mute swans nor Canada geese need clarification. However, Brant (geese) may not be familiar to everyone. Smaller than Canadas by approximately 10”, they are best distinguished by their short neck and black chest. Although they prefer salt water, they occasionally sample fresh water aquatic plants.

Ducks, however, are the dominate species on our winter ponds. The best-known and most widespread are the dabblers or “puddle ducks” that tip up in shallow water so as to feed on the leaves and seeds of sedges, grasses and even bottom-land trees. They also dine on snails and aquatic insects, as well as fish eggs, grasshoppers and dead fish. When flushed, they spring instantly into the air.

Of the dabblers, no doubt the mallard —or as hunters call them, greenheads — is the best known and perhaps the most abundant wild duck in these parts as well as in the world. The male’s iridescent green head, yellow bill, chestnut breast and white neck ring guarantee recognition. The female is brown-streaked with an orange and black bill. American black ducks are the other widespread dabbler, often in the company of mallards. Large dark brown ducks with a paler head and neck, they show conspicuous white underwing linings when they fly, an excellent feature for identifying them in flight. Our locale is one of the most important wintering areas in North America for these ducks.

Far less abundant and therefore more highly prized are pintails and shovelers. The former is about 2 feet in length with a long pointed tail. Males have a dark brown head, white breast and neck with a fairly conspicuous white line that extends up the neck. Male shovelers have a dark green head, white breast and reddish-brown flanks, but it is their bill that gives them their name, for it widens considerably at the tip. Other dabblers include American wigeon, gadwall and green-winged teal. All of these can be in fairly large number on certain ponds, especially several in the mid-Cape area.

It is the diving ducks, though, that I really enjoy and which brighten the winter scene for many. They plunge for mollusks, crustaceans, fish, frogs, aquatic vegetation and insects. The most numerous diver here are the tiny (14”) buffleheads, found on almost any body of open fresh water. The male’s large rounded head sports a sizable white wedge at the back of his head; while his lady has only a long white dash behind her eye.

Neophytes at duck identification often confuse a bufflehead with a male hooded merganser when the latter’s crest is raised showing a large patch of white feathers. The merg, however, is larger by 4” and has the short thin bill typical of all mergansers. This merg has a black head and two vertical lines that cut diagonally down through the white breast. I consider the male hooded merganser to be among the top five of North America’s most beautiful birds. The female, as females often are, is plain brown with a reddish-brown crest that is not often raised and a pale cheek.

Common goldeneyes are numerous on some ponds and absent on others. Red-breasted mergansers are fairly abundant in certain Cape ponds and also in salt water. They ride well down in the water and present a long (23”) slim body and a long red bill. The male has a dark green crested head, a white neck ring and a rusty breast. The female shows the same silhouette but is a brown duck whose crest is often obscured.

Obviously, unless you’re experienced in waterfowl identification, you need one of the modern field guides that accentuate the salient points of each species. For the Cape, you also need “Birding Cape Cod” by the Cape Cod Bird Club and Mass. Audubon Society, available at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History’s bookstore and other businesses that cater to birders.

The most productive ponds and bays for seeing Cape waterfowl are quite scattered, but each is worth a visit. I’ll start with Bourne’s Red Brook Pond, which often has a lot of waterfowl with a good viewing point at the rear of the cemetery along County Road, and continue in a southerly scan of the Cape. In nearby North Falmouth, try Cedar Lake, with walking access from both Chester Street and County Road. Some excellent ponds in Falmouth include Salt Pond (you should see greater scaup and canvasbacks), Shiverick’s and Siders Ponds, as well as, Dutchman Ditch along John Parker Road.

December is a prime time to visit the bay at Oregon Beach at the end of Main Street in Cotuit. Look for common goldeneye, red-breasted merganser and bufflehead. The pond at junction of Routes 28 and 149 is usually excellent for American wigeon, gadwall and a wide variety of other waterfowl.

In Yarmouth, try Swan Pond, which has a walkway to a nice lookout. Access is via Meadowbrook Lane, off Winslow Gray Road. Harwich and Dennis share Long Pond (accessed by Cahoon Road and Long Pond Drive), the southeast end of which can have stunning waterfowl. Seymour Pond, also shared by Harwich and Brewster, can be equally rewarding. There is easy access at the little store along route 124 just south of the town line. At the Chatham-Harwich line is Red River Beach, accessed from Route 28 via Uncle Venie’s Road. By parking at the east end of the parking area there, you can often enjoy mergansers and buffleheads feeding in the swirling currents.

Orleans has a few small ponds that are occasionally worthwhile, such as the one on the left at the end of Quanset Road in South Orleans and Pilgrim Lake off Monument Road. Eastham’s Great Pond is the most reliable for ruddy ducks.

These are only a few of many places to try your hand with waterfowl. I hope you’ll have a ducky time with this information!