A pair of Buffleheads Photo by Nick (kukkurovaca)/Flickr

A major event in the history of Buffleheads is the Great Bufflehead Crash that occurred in November 1940 near Foam Lake, Saskatchewan. The crash may have been caused by a heavy fog on the night of November 4th, with the addition of Foam Lake’s street lights that confused Buffleheads into thinking it was a lake. These are diving ducks, so one can only imagine the outcome of such a mirage – they could dive straight into the ground! Some say the crash could have been due to freezing rain that forced the ducks to ‘fall from the sky’.

At Nature Canada’s 2010 Annual General Meeting, a resolution – All Buffleheads Day, October 15th, 2010 – was adopted to recognize that 2010 is the 70th anniversary of the Great Bufflehead Crash of 1940; to encourage the government to implement and support the monitoring of key phenological indicators through citizen-based monitoring programs; and to commend the District of North Saanich and the Town of Sidney in their efforts to protect essential Bufflehead habitat in Shoal Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary.