Yellow-crowned Night Herons are spotted regularly during migration in southern Wisconsin, and may even breed rarely in the state, with a few reports in the Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas.
Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris) are named for a chestnut ring encircling the necks of the drakes, but it is faint and can only be seen at close range or with a bird in hand.
Black-bellied and Fulvous Whistling-ducks are found in the southern United States. Both species were formerly known as “tree ducks” since they often roost in trees.
You can spot the Blue-winged Teal’s dabbling blue-gray head—with a distinctive white crescent in front of the eye—in wetlands this time of year, having just recently arrived.
Redheads spend their winters in large mixed flocks on the Gulf Coast and sometimes in the Great Lakes. These gregarious, social ducks can be found huddled with other ducks and waterfowl in flocks up to 60,000 on large bodies of water during winter.
Photo by Martin Knippel/Audubon Photography Awards