Ruddy Duck

Oxyura jamaicensis

The Ruddy Duck was once called “Blue Bill”, or “Blue-Billed Duck”, or even “Stiff Tail”. They breed across most of western North America and Mexico. These diving ducks seek wetlands and reservoirs during the breeding season.

In 1948, so-called conservationist Sir Peter Scott imported some of these ducks to the United Kingdom, and collectors added them to their collection. As one would expect, there were escapes and/or releases into the wild, and soon their population exploded across Europe. There, the more sexually aggressive Ruddy Ducks interbred with the endangered White-Headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala). Concerned about the welfare and preservation of the White-Headed Duck, conservationists in Spain and other countries began a campaign to extirpate the Ruddy Duck in Europe, dropping their numbers from a high estimates of nearly 6000 birds in the year 2000, to about 20~100 in 2014.

Ruddy Duck - Oxyura jamaicensis — **Ruddy Duck**
*(Oxyura jamaicensis)*

**Description:**
Santee Lakes in Santee, California. San Diego County.
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**Date Taken:** 2014:12:19 13:27

**Location:**

Santee Lakes
Santee, California
United States
334.66 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/13.0, 1/800

**File Name:** D3X4476-RuddyDuck

© 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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Pin It — **Ruddy Duck**
*(Oxyura jamaicensis)*

**Description:**
Santee Lakes in Santee, California. San Diego County.
Read More

**Date Taken:** 2014:12:19 13:27

**Location:**

Santee Lakes
Santee, California
United States
334.66 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/13.0, 1/800

**File Name:** D3X4476-RuddyDuck

© 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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