Ferruginous Ducks wintering on Lake Geneva

Every winter for now 10 years, if you visit or live in Geneva, you have the opportunity to see a beautiful but endangered bird on Lake Geneva : the Ferruginous Duck.

The harbor of Geneva is an exceptional wintering site for migrating birds. It is a Ramsar Site. The ban on hunting in 1974, the quality of the waters of Lake Geneva, as well as the revitalization efforts, have contributed to offer the birds here a real haven of peace.

Tufted Duck, Common Pochard, Red-crested Pochard, and even rarities like the Long-tailed duck, you can see them all on Lake Geneva in winter.

All the ducks that spend the winter in Geneva come from Northern Europe or Siberia. They migrate South to find better feeding grounds. But the Ferruginous Duck lives in Ukraine, or Hungary. Seeing it in Western Europe is very rare, and the global population is decreasing.

In Geneva, there are about ten Ferruginous Ducks near the Jet d'Eau in Eaux-Vives, every year from November to March.

Ornithologists and wildlife photographers come from the entire Switzerland or even France to see them. They quickly became stars for nature lovers. Also, it is possible to see them pretty close without bothering them. The drake has beautiful white eyes, whereas the female is more discreet, with dark brown eyes.

Salva Fauna