Ruddy Duck

In the crowd of newly arrived waterfowl on 21 October 2021 in Capitol Lake, the most interesting were two Ruddy Ducks. We have only observed a few in Olympia depsite Walt et al.’s (2005 assertion that Ruddy Ducks are locally common migrants in western Washington. Ruddy Ducks tend to float with their tails held at an upward angle. Ruddy Ducks are classified with a few other similar species around the world—all falling within a group called stiff-tailed ducks. Just how this group is related to other ducks is open to debate. Some ornithologists consider this group to be a sister group to all of the other ducks, Other researchers place stiff-tailed ducks within the greater assemblage of ducks.