Ruddy Duck
(Oxyura jamaicensis)

Overview

Summary

© Jukka Jantunen (flickr.com/photos/jukka_jantunen)
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The Ruddy Duck is not an abundant species in Canada. Approximately 86% of the breeding population breeds in the Prairie Pothole Region of Canada. Ruddy Duck numbers are stable or increasing throughout most of the species’ North American breeding range. The species is not an important game bird species in Canada, with harvest numbers averaging approximately 1,500 birds annually over the last 10 years. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1970-2016)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation

General nesting period in Canada

Conservation and management

Ruddy Ducks are prone to accumulate contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls, selenium and heavy metals including lead because of their diet. Degradation of wintering habitat in the Salton Sea in California and Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and Maryland could also be a threat to this species (Brua 2002).

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Brua, R.B. 2002. Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis), version 2.0. In: The Birds of North America (P.G. Rodewald, ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA. Brua, R.B. 2002. Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis), version 2.0. In: The Birds of North America (P.G. Rodewald, ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA. (Link)
• Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) Waterfowl Committee. 2017. Population Status of Migratory Game Birds in Canada: November 2017. CWS Migratory Birds Regulatory Report Number 49. 221 pp. Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) Waterfowl Committee. 2017. Population Status of Migratory Game Birds in Canada: November 2017. CWS Migratory Birds Regulatory Report Number 49. 221 pp. (Link)