Stictonetta naevosa

HABITAT:
Open lakes, swamps, marshes, coastal lagoons and flood plains

DISTRIBUTION:
Inland southeastern and extreme southwestern Australia

SIZE AND APPEARANCE:
Relatively large, heavy-bodied duck with long neck, triangular-shaped head due to the pointed crown

The name is derived from the uniformly gray-brown plumage that is intensely freckled with minute pale markings.

DIET:
Algae, seeds from a variety of aquatic grasses, vegetative parts of aquatic plants, crustaceans, worms, insects, zooplankton and small fish

MISC:
Foraging Freckled Ducks seldom dive, but are surprisingly skilled divers, and commonly submerge when bathing or threatened by aerial predators such as Swamp Harriers.

                                                                                                                                                                                           Photo: Frank S. Todd    

PROJECT NOTES:
The Freckled Duck is the least numerous of Australia’s native duck species. The population is very vulnerable and insecure. The already limited suitable habitat for these ducks is under siege from wetland drainage, irrigation projects, clearing and burning for grazing stock and illegal hunting. Natural flooding controls the breeding cycle of the Freckled Duck, so flood control projects and other hydrological alterations by man can be devastating to the population.

During years of drought, Freckled Ducks tended to congregate in large, dense flocks in the southeast of Australia, where hunting pressure was especially intense. Although now fully protected from hunting, the population was severely decreased by legal hunting prior to the early 1980’s. Today, some illegal hunting occurs and inexperienced hunters who confuse them with the superficially similar Pacific Blue Duck shoot some Freckled Ducks unintentionally. The population during the early 1970’s may have been as low as 1,500 ducks, but the number could conceivably shoot up to 40,000 in prime years, with the high and low cycles separated by 10-15 years.

In the early 1980’s, a comprehensive research project involving managed breeding was initiated at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) facility in Canberra. From the completion of this project, a large number of birds were sent to other facilities in Australia. The program in Australia lost funding for their conservation and captive breeding program. When this happened, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in the United Kingdom accepted the birds and took over the care and husbandry of these waterfowl.                                                                                                             Photo: Chris Aydlett

The English ducks proved to be prolific breeders. In 1996, the project was extended to North America, when Sylvan Heights was asked to join in the effort with Wildfowl Wetlands Trust and the Wildlife Conservation Society to help stabilize the Freckled Duck captive population. Four pairs were sent to the North Carolina facility as a loan from the Australian government.

In just one year, staff at Sylvan Heights was able

to assess the needs of this species and breed it for the first time in North America. The North Carolina ducks also proved to be very prolific. DNA testing was performed in 1999 on the Sylvan Heights’ flock through the support of the American Zoological and Aquarium Association’s Anseriform Taxon Advisory Group. The results showed that the gene pool was big enough to breed a number of Freckled Ducks.

Sylvan Heights is working with the American Zoological Association's Waterfowl (Anseriformes) TAG  to establish a managed breeding program for Freckled Ducks in AZA zoos and aquariums so that birds will be available for release in Australia should the need arise.

                                                                                                                   Photo: Frank S. Todd                   MIKE’S COMMENTS:
Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Center maintains a flock of 40 Freckled Ducks, all from the original four pairs.

The species needs support to keep this project going. Sylvan Heights is currently housing all of the birds in the AZA program, but would like to loan some of them to zoos in the U.S.

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