Field Guide
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Garganey
Spatula querquedula
Not yet photographed by the community
UK's only summer duck; white eye stripe on male.
Species Profile
Amber List (UK Birds of Conservation Concern)
- Lifespan
- 8–10 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 37–41 cm, wingspan 53–63 cm; 280–400 g
- Habitat
- Shallow freshwater wetlands, marshes, and flooded meadows with emergent vegetation and open water.
- UK Distribution
- Summer breeding visitor to southern and central England, with scattered populations across the Midlands and East Anglia; rare in Scotland and Wales. Arrives March–April, departs August–September.
- Diet
- Primarily aquatic invertebrates including insects, small crustaceans, and other arthropods; also dabbles for seeds and plant material.
- Prey
- Aquatic insect larvae (chironomids, damselfly nymphs), small freshwater shrimp, water beetles, and tadpoles
- Predators
- Foxes, mink, pike, and avian predators including marsh harriers, herons, and corvids; eggs and ducklings vulnerable to rats and crows.
- Mating Season
- April to July
- Breeding
- Clutch size 8–9 eggs, incubation period 21–23 days by female only; single brood per year. Nest is well-hidden among marsh vegetation.
- Behaviour
- The male is highly vocal and distinctive, with a distinctive mechanical rattling and clicking call. Males are markedly smaller and more agile than females. They are dabbling ducks, feeding in shallow water and on mudflats.
- •The male garganey has an iridescent green head stripe and striking white facial markings that make it one of Britain's most colourful dabbling ducks.
- •Garganeys are one of the earliest breeding ducks to arrive in the UK, with males often establishing territories before females.
- •Unlike many duck species, male garganeys do not remain with females after pairing; they abandon breeding duties entirely.
- •The species name 'querquedula' derives from Latin and refers to a type of teal, reflecting its relationship to other small dabbling ducks.
- •Garganeys undertake a complete moult migration, with many males departing the UK before females in midsummer to moult in North Africa and the Mediterranean.
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