Tufted duck

Tufted duck (aythya fuligula) is widespread from Atlantic up to Pacific ocean. In the north its natural habitat reaches southern areas of tundra, in the south - up to northern areas of Ukraine. Tufted duck winters along coasts of France, Belgium, Holland, around of British isles, considerably in smaller quantity it meets in winter on internal reservoirs of the Western Europe. In Belarus tufted duck nests almost on all types of reservoirs, preferring to the rests ponds of fishing households and lakes on which there are large colonies of lake gulls. It does not meet in the summer in fluvial meadows, avoids bogs. In the spring tufted duck appears on reservoirs much later than mallard - in the beginning of April. Pairs are formed on winterings, but birds keep flocks up to the middle of May and break up only when females sit down on nests. Tufted duck start nesting later than other kinds of ducks. This period is stretched and depends on a water level and presence of places for nesting. On lakes of Vitebsk region tufted duck begins to nest already in the middle of May, on ponds of fishing households - in different dates of June and frequently in July. Such stretched term of nesting is explained by a sharp shortage of places of nesting (as they prefer to lodge under the protection of colonies of gills), and also by the fluctuations of the water level that lead to mass flooding of the nests. In 60th years tufted duck was rare enough. The next years number of this kind has considerably increased and continues to increase now that promoted by appearance of fishing households, eutrophication of lakes. The growth of number of tufted duck is restrained by the shortage of places of nesting and injurious activity by sulfur ravens. In extraction of hunters it meets in a small amount even on reservoirs where it is most numerous that speaks about the inconvenience of its extraction in view of absence of precisely expressed fodder flights of this bird.