Christy Sweigart

Feb 21, 2025 | deltawaterfowl.org | Christy Sweigart |Ashley Praus

Hatch-Boosting HabitatsBy Christy SweigartWhen it comes time for waterfowlers to drift into a sweet slumber, some may be transported beneath a canopied Arkansas timber, along the shore of a northwestern Nebraska slough, to the golden fields of Saskatchewan, or aboard a Louisiana mud boat navigating equally heavy water and air.

May 24, 2024 | deltawaterfowl.org | Christy Sweigart |Angela Cook |Derrick Schiff

What Do Ducks See? As we sit in the blind and anticipate the morning ahead, our minds can get stuck in a daydream. We may picture the array of colors on a wood duck or on an acrobatic flock of teal buzzing past. And this can lead us to wonder: Do the ducks see what we see?

Mar 8, 2024 | deltawaterfowl.org | Christy Sweigart |Derrick Schiff

Unusual NestersLater this spring, somewhere in the deserts of western Nevada, common merganser ducklings will descend from their nests. They’re categorized as cavity nesters, yet it’s not the usual tree from which these mergies will make their leaps. Like many ducks in North America’s Great Basin, they will have nested in a craggy rock—more specifically, a fracture in the rock that provides protection from ground predators and weather.

Jan 17, 2024 | deltawaterfowl.org | Christy Sweigart |Derrick Schiff

Waterfowl in WinterAs winter’s approach brings frigid winds, bleak temperatures, and dwindling food resources, ducks do whatever it takes to survive the cruelest conditions. In fact, while most ducks head south in search of open water and a better selection of food resources, some odd ducks have found success with an unlikely strategy: Their migration takes a lateral or even northward route.