We're not talking about a diver who throws herself into all sorts of perilous adventures, but about the Red-crested Pochard, a diving duck that hasn't always been around Lake Geneva. In fact, the Red-crested Pochard has only been a regular species since 1990. Its presence is due to two main factors: the degradation of its native sites, as in Spain, and the development of characeous meadows in Lake Geneva. These characeae belong to a family of macro-algae that is sensitive to nutrient-rich water and has been a victim of eutrophication in Lake Geneva. However, improvements in wastewater treatment and the ban on phosphates in detergents have been decisive in the emancipation of these macrophytes and indirectly in the explosion in the number of Red-crested Nets wintering on the lake.
Similar in size to the Mallard, the male has a voluminous, fire-coloured head with a bright red beak and eye. This original hairstyle has the particularity of bristling up during nuptial parades, leaving more than one female very excited. The latter has more discreet plumage, ranging from brown to grey. The Red-crested Pochard prefers reed-fringed water bodies, but is highly adaptable, nesting just as well in natural-looking water bodies as in urban areas. As explained above, the majority of its menu consists of macrophytes, but it does not deprive itself of a meaty element from time to time, such as molluscs, worms or small fish.
The Red-crested Pochard has the particularity of migrating east-west rather than north-south like most migratory species. Lake Geneva, like other lakes in Switzerland, acts as an alternative for the Red-crested Pochard, which spends its winters there. Some pairs stay on Lake Geneva to nest. Its presence here shows that efforts to improve the water quality of our lakes have not been in vain.
Information taken from the website : La Grande Caricaie, La Nette rousse
Photo credit : Kai Taimsalu
