The Ruddy Duck is fairly common on area lakes during migration and over the winter, but there is little optimal habitat in the Park to attract them.

There are four park records: a dead bird killed on the Newfound Gap Road during an early winter storm (November 27, 1951; Stupka 1963), a pair at Metcalf Bottoms in late March 1984, a male in Cades Cove in April of 1987, and a female that spent several days in late October 2003 on the Middle Prong of the Little River at Tremont.

References:

Stupka, A. 1963. Notes on the Birds of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.

Gough, G. A., Sauer, J. R., Iliff, M. Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter. 1998. Version 97.1. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD.