American Black Duck

American Black Duck are distinguished by their slow yet powerful flight and exceptional swimming abilities, adeptly diving to elude predators or in search of sustenance. These birds exhibit seasonal monogamy, forming enduring pair bonds during the fall and winter before venturing to breeding territories. Pairing and territorial defense are key aspects of their conduct, with territorial males actively engaging in bouts of threat displays and combat to deter interlopers. Nesting habits are adaptable to their range, with initiation spanning from February in the southern parts to late May further north. Remarkably, males guard the nest diligently until partway through incubation, after which they tend to abandon the brood. After hatching in synchrony, ducklings are promptly escorted by the female to rich feeding grounds plentiful in invertebrates and shelter. Post-molt, come early September, all ages coalesce and commence their southward migration from breeding grounds.

The American black duck is endemic to eastern North America. In Canada, the range extends from northeastern Saskatchewan to Newfoundland and Labrador. In the United States, it is found in northern Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Connecticut, Vermont, South Dakota, central West Virginia, Maine and on the Atlantic coast to North Carolina. The American black duck is a habitat generalist as it is associated with tidal marshes and present throughout the year in salt marshes from the Gulf of Maine to coastal Virginia. It usually prefers freshwater and coastal wetlands throughout northeastern America, including brackish marshes, estuaries and edges of backwater ponds and rivers lined by speckled alder. It also inhabits beaver ponds, shallow lakes with sedges and reeds, bogs in open boreal and mixed hardwood forests, as well as forested swamps. Populations in Vermont have also been found in glacial kettle ponds surrounded by bog mats. During winter, the American black duck mostly inhabits brackish marshes bordering bays, agricultural marshes, flooded timber, agricultural fields, estuaries and riverine areas. Ducks usually take shelter from hunting and other disturbances by moving to brackish and fresh impoundments on conservation land.

Since 1988, the American black duck has been rated as least concern on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. This is because the range of this species is extremely large, which is not near the threshold of vulnerable species. In addition, the total population is large, and, although it is declining, it is not declining fast enough to make the species vulnerable. It has long been valued as a game bird, being extremely wary and fast flying. Habitat loss due to drainage, filling of wetlands due to urbanization, global warming and rising sea levels are major reasons for the declining population. Some conservationists consider hybridization and competition with the mallard as an additional source of concern should this decline continue. Hybridization itself is not a major problem; natural selection makes sure that the best-adapted individuals have the most offspring. However, the reduced viability of female hybrids causes some broods to fail in the long run due to the death of the offspring before reproducing themselves. While this is not a problem in the plentiful mallard, it might place an additional strain on the American black duck's population. Recent research conducted for the Delta Waterfowl Foundation suggests that hybrids are a result of forced copulations and not a normal pairing choice by black hens. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has continued to purchase and manage habitat in many areas to support the migratory stopover, wintering and breeding populations of the American black duck. In addition, the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge has purchased and restored over 1,000 acres of wetlands to provide stopover habitat for over 10,000 American black ducks during fall migration. Also, the Atlantic Coast Joint Venture has been protecting the habitat of the American black duck through habitat restoration and land acquisition projects, mostly within their wintering and breeding areas. In 2003, a Boreal Forest Conservation Framework was adopted by conservation organizations, industries and First Nations to protect the Canadian boreal forests, including the American black duck's eastern Canadian breeding range.