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Easily our smallest duck is the Teal. As they wheel and keel in tight flocks over the Wick, you could sometimes mistake them for a waders, with their sharp-pointed wings. In clear light, you might however catch sight of not only a pale wing-stripe, but also a flash of green, enough for their American cousins to be known as "Green-winged Teals". On the ground, or on water - usually fresh - the Teal seems tiny, much smaller than our common winter duck the Wigeon, with which it is often seen. The males of both species are generally grey, but the Teal has a chestnut and green head that often seems dark, compared to the handsome Wigeon's red and yellow pate. As with so many duck species, the female is dull brown. 
Drawing by Jonathan Smith The Teal is a true "dabbling" duck finding its food at the waters edge. It tends to walk or swim with its head underwater as it strains tasty morsels from the mud, so it does not compete with the grazing Wigeon. Often you hear them before you see them because the male Teal has a musical call which sounds to me like "philip", repeated over and over again, both in flight and at rest. Usually flocks will call in concert making a pleasant warbling sound. Like many of our ducks, the Teal is a winter visitor to Essex, and very few breed anywhere in the British Isles. At the Wick, a pair may have nested in the last couple of summers, but they are very secretive in the breeding season. Our winter numbers have increased as the water levels have improved, and there was a good count of 670 just after Christmas. At nearby Abberton Reservoir over 11,000 Teal have been counted recently, making it the national stronghold. There has been a ringing programme there for some years, and their ringed teals have been found (usually shot, unfortunately) in the summer all over Europe and central Russia, showing how far our visitors travel to reach Essex and Tollesbury Wick. |