What they like

Shallow, quiet pools with a messy edge. Mud. Ditch banks. Waterlogged grassland. In winter also flooded fields: a quick food stop. Help it: make banks gently sloping, keep a corner wet, leave reed and bulrush standing. In park ponds: mow the edges less neatly, leave some rough vegetation.

Ecological importance

Teal sieve the water and probe the mud for insect larvae, small snails, tiny crustaceans and seeds of aquatic and shoreline plants. They themselves are prey for raptors like the goshawk and peregrine. A good teal-wintering landscape is usually also great for amphibians, dragonflies and many other waterside inhabitants.

When in the Netherlands

Mostly October through March: a winter visitor in large numbers. They do breed too, but rarely and mainly in wet, quiet areas.

Status

Breeding bird: rare. In winter: common as a passage migrant and winter visitor.