Reiherente Schleswig-Holstein

The tufted duck (Aythya fuligula) reaches a body length of about 40 to 48 centimetres and a wingspan of 67 to 77 centimetres, with a typical weight of 700 to 1000 grams. Drakes in breeding plumage are mostly black with a green to purple gloss on the head, a striking long and drooping crest on the nape and pure white flanks contrasting sharply against the dark body. The iris is a bright yellow. Females are uniformly dark brown with a shorter tuft and sometimes a narrow pale eye ring or a small whitish patch at the base of the bill. This combination separates the tufted duck clearly from the similarly built common pochard, which shows a chestnut head, a pale grey back and no crest.

As a typical diving duck the tufted duck prefers standing waters with sufficient depth. It breeds and winters on nutrient-rich lakes, ponds, reservoirs, fish ponds and clarification ponds, and is increasingly found on urban park lakes and small inland waters as well. Compared with the common pochard it tends to use deeper and clearer waters. The species feeds mainly by diving, taking mussels, aquatic insects, crustaceans, snails and to a lesser extent plant material. In Central Europe the tufted duck is both a resident breeder and a widespread winter visitor. Local breeders are partial migrants or short-distance migrants, while large numbers from Northern and Eastern European breeding grounds arrive between September and November in the DACH region and along the western Baltic, the Netherlands and the Swiss lakes. The return migration takes place from February through May.

In hunting terms the tufted duck is classic waterfowl. It is listed in Annex II/A of the EU Birds Directive and is therefore in principle a huntable species across the member states. German federal hunting law lists the species as quarry, but the actual open and closed seasons are set by each federal state and differ substantially across Germany, and the same applies to Austria and the Swiss cantons. In some federal states such as North Rhine-Westphalia the tufted duck is fully protected throughout the year. Notes on safe identification, on separation from similar species such as common pochard, greater scaup and ferruginous duck, and on the open season currently valid for your hunting ground can be found in the regional regulations and in the MyHunt app.