GAP Analysis Predicted Distribution Map

Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)

Species Code: AYCO

Legend:
= Core Habitat
= Marginal Habitat

Breeding Range Map
The green area shows the predicted habitats for breeding only. The habitats were identified using 1991 satellite imagery, Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA), other datasets and experts throughout the state, as part of the Washington Gap Analysis Project. Habitats used during non-breeding months and migratory rest-stops were not mapped.

Metadata (Data about data or how the map was made)

Click to enlarge distribution map

Other maps & Information:

Breeding Bird Atlas
NatureMapping observations
during breeding season
NatureMapping observations
throughout the year

This species is uncommon in low-elevation wetlands in eastern Washington and is a rare breeder east in the channeled scablands. They are uncommon to fairly common in higher elevation wetlands in northeastern Washington and in the east Cascades. They are a rare and local breeder west of the Cascade crest in the Puget Trough.

Good habitat in the core areas of use included all freshwater bodies and wetlands in the Ponderosa Pine, Interior Douglas-fir, Grand Fir, Interior Redcedar, and Interior Western Hemlock zones of northeastern Washington. Forests in these zones were also included, contingent on the availability of suitable wetlands. Wetlands where breeding is known or likely were in the Palouse, Three-tip Sage, Big Sage/Fescue and Central Arid Steppe zones. In western Washington, freshwater/wetlands in the Puget Sound Douglas-fir, Woodland/Prairie Mosaic, and Western Hemlock zones were also included as peripheral areas of use.

The Ring-necked Duck is mainly a creature of more northern wooded wetlands. Its distribution in Washington is mostly limited to wetlands in forests of eastern Washington. In the lower elevations steppe zones, it is principally found in wetlands with wooded borders. This type of wetland is less common in the eastern parts of the Columbia Basin, and thus so are Ring-necked Ducks. In northeastern Washington, wooded wetlands are more common. The largely boreal distribution of Ring-necked Ducks suggest they would be most common in wetlands of the Subalpine Fir zone, but there are no BBA records from that zone. We excluded the Subalpine Fir zone from our model, but suspect that the lack of records may actually reflect a lack of sampling effort. It is also curious that this species is not more abundant in western Washington ponds. Ring-necked Ducks prefer shallow water, which could explain their absence in some of the large west-side reservoirs.

Translated from the Washington Gap Analysis Bird Volume by Uchenna Bright
Text edited by Gussie Litwer
Webpage designed by Dave Lester