Watching Tufted ducks

Three Tufted ducks, either female or immature, have settled in the pond of my local park these last days. They have allowed me an unusual opportunity to watch them at close range - as the pond is quite small. They spend much of their time snoozing, preening, and diving. Although the light was a bit poor, the rich colours of the reflected trees on the water made up for it.
 They preen their bellies quite a bit, turning almost on their backs while floating in the water to do so. When they dive, they often do it together, diving one after the other. I had never seen a Tufted duck on land, but today, two of them spent a little time out of water, just by the pond edge, and then it became obvious how different their leg position and body shape is to dabbling ducks.

A good wing flapping after a grooming session

Showing its white belly while preening

Showing the heavy body and legs placed wide apart in the side of their body.

and an edited video of the Tufties

On zebra mussels and tufted ducks

One of the most common diving ducks around here is the handsome Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula). The male striking black and white plumage, long tuft of feathers at the back of their heads and yellow eyes makes them quite distinctive. Females are all brown and have only a tiny, but clear tuft. Reading about tufted ducks I came across some research suggesting that the spread of a non-native invasive species, the Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) in the UK in the last couple of centuries could be linked to the increase in Tufted Duck numbers.
 Tufted ducks dive up to 5 m of depth to feed. They eat mostly zebra mussels where they are available, whereas in places where zebra mussels are not widespread, their diet is more varied, with crustaceans, insects, seeds and some molluscs. The mussels, which are of small size are swallowed whole and crushed in the muscular gizzard. The small mussels are sucked and filtered, while the larger ones require more manipulation.

and down it goes!

More information
Olney, P. J. S. (1963). The food and feeding habits of tufted duck Aythya fuligula. Ibis, 105(1), 55-62. here.

Joep J. De Leeuw and Mennobart R. van Eeerden 1992. Size selection in diving tufted ducks Aythya fuligula explained by differential handling of small and large mussels Dreissena polymorpha. Ardea 80:353-362. here