Bufflehead Breeding Activity in South-Central North Dakota

Authors

Gregory A. Knutsen, Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge Complex
Janet C. King, Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Date of this Version

2004

Comments

Published in THE PRAIRIE NATURALIST 36(3): September 2004 Published by the North Dakota Natural Science Society.

Abstract

The bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) is a small, cavity-nesting diving duck that breeds primarily in the aspen parkland and boreal forest regions of Alaska and Canada (Erskine 1972, Bellrose 1976, Gauthier 1993). According to Gauthier (1993), buffleheads prefer habitat consisting of small, permanent wetlands with a scarcity of emergent vegetation and adjacent aspen or poplar (Populus spp.) stands.