Birds of North Carolina
their Distribution and Abundance
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
ANATIDAE Members:
General Comments
This is the only dabbling duck (excluding Wood Duck) that regularly nests as a natural population in Florida. In recent years, Mottled Ducks have been introduced into coastal South Carolina, for hunting purposes. This SC population has been increasing, and individuals from either that population or from the native Florida/Gulf Coast population have turned up in North Carolina since 2005. As both male and female Mottleds look intermediate in plumage between female Mallard and American Black Duck, and as these latter two species often hybridize, as do Mallard and Mottled Duck, identification of Mottled Duck can be quite a challenge. And, there is no assurance that a Mottled Duck in NC is one from a "countable" population (though the coastal SC population has been established for several decades and is considered "countable" now by that state). Mottled Ducks are birds of fresh to slightly brackish marshes, impoundments, ponds, and smaller lakes, including rice plantations; they tend to stay fairly close to shorelines and marshy cover.
Breeding Status
Nonbreeder
NC BRC List
The species' status on the List of Bird Species of North Carolina: either Definitive, Provisional, or Extinct, as administered by the NC Bird Records Committee. The Provisional List contains species for which there are less than three accepted sight (i.e., non-documented) records. Species of unaccepted origin are not included on the List of Bird Species of North Carolina.
Definitive
State Status
none
U.S. Status
Definitive
State Rank
SZ
Global Rank
G4
Coastal Plain
A recent visitor, currently rare but records greatly increasing, to the southern half of the coast. Records are scattered over most of the year, essentially from all four seasons. The first two documented records with photographs were: two at Camp Lejeune (Onslow) on 14 May 2005* (Chat 70:8), and two at Twin Lakes in Sunset Beach (Brunswick), 10 Oct into Dec 2007* (Chat 72:23), (Chat 72:53). As of 2025, there are at least 28 reports from the southern coastal counties, most likely correct, though the majority of these have not been reviewed by the NC BRC. The farthest north and "inland" in the province is a female seen at Mattamuskeet NWR (Hyde,), 23 Jun 2014. There are no farther inland records, at least accepted, for the province. Though photographs are not essential for acceptance, the difficulty in convincing a records committee with only a written description that a bird is a Mottled Duck and not a hybrid, a female Mallard, or an American Black Duck, is quite apparent.
Piedmont
Very rare stray. One male was seen by multiple observers and photographed at Riverbend Park (Catawba) from 24 Jul - 5 Aug 2011* (Chat 75:153). Another bird was photographed at Lake Norman (Mecklenburg) on 11 Apr 2026 (Chat 90:76). This latter report has yet to be reviewed by the NC BRC.
Mountains
No records.
Finding Tips
*
Your best bet is to look at ponds at Twin Lakes in summer, fall, and winter. The large pond by the Fort Fisher Aquarium has hosted the species on several occasions. Any other ponds and impoundments in the Wilmington area are also worth checking.