January 10 – My Nature Journal

Green-winged Teal

Nothing makes my day better than spotting a new wild animal species. And today I spotted a wild Green-winged Teal for the very first time.

Despite being one of the most numerous duck species in the United States, Green-winged Teals eluded me for years. But I finally went to the right lake at the right time and made some observations about these beautiful birds.

Only a single male and female teal were present on the entire lake and they (naturally) were on the far side from my observation point.

Green-winged Teals are relatively small ducks (approximately 60% the length of their well-known duck cousin, the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). They move smoothly; even when foraging, the birds I watched didn’t jerk, dart, or make any sudden moves, so drew very little attention to themselves.

The ducks also kept close to shore in shallow water. They only paddled into wide, empty expanses of water—where they would stand out visually—when they were changing locations.