DUCKS can be split into two broad groups: dabblers and divers.

Diving ducks feed mainly by diving under the water, whether it’s to chase fish, scoop up insects or graze on aquatic plants.

Some diving ducks prefer freshwater, others prefer the sea and are usually seen from the coast.

Dabbling ducks on feed on the surface of the water, either skimming along or tipping their heads underwater, bottoms aloft.

Dabbling ducks may be more familiar to most of us as they include the mallards and farm ducks you might see on the local pond.

Diving ducks in winter

Diving ducks can be seen year-round, but winter brings a boost in numbers as birds arrive from Northern Europe and Russia. Some species, like scaup and smew, are mostly winter visitors and are rarely seen during the summer. At this time of year they will be in their breeding plumage, which they have from autumn through to spring. After breeding, they start moulting and males enter an often-confusing “eclipse” plumage, where they resemble females.

Which species might I see?

The tufted duck is our most common diving duck; found on almost any freshwater body and often in parks and on urban waterways. Males have black and white plumage and a long tuft of feathers on their head. Females are much browner, and their tufts are smaller but still visible.

Pochards are a handsome duck and a very common winter visitor. Males have a pale grey body with black on the breast, a bright chestnut head with red eye, and a black bill with a blue-grey band across it. Again, females are similar, but the colours are more muted.

Goldeneyes breed in the Scottish highlands, but in winter can be found on lakes, large rivers and coasts around the UK. Males are dazzling with a black and white body and a large, rounded head. The head is glossy and can appear green or purple depending on the light, with a golden eye and a white patch behind the bill. Females look very different, with a grey body and brown head. They also lack the distinctive gold eye.

Eiders are large, heavy seaducks with a wedge-shaped bill. Males are strikingly black and white, with a green nape and a black cap. Females are brown with dark barring. Present year-round off northern coasts, in winter they wander south and can be seen off other parts of the UK.