Susan Kirby

Ruddy ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis) are small diving ducks that show up on the Reservoir and proceed to fall asleep. When they wake up, they dive and dive and dive. They seem to be very social ducks, for we see them in very large flocks. They eat aquatic invertebrates (as so many other water birds do — must be tasty!), and surface dive. Their bills turn very blue during breeding season.