Usually nests near small ponds and lakes, sedge meadows, creeks; in cover 1-2 ft high, within 46 m of water (NatureServe 2007b). Nests around semi-permanent (< 1 ha) waterbodies with emergent vegetation, but will also nest in sparse shrub patches (Austin et al. 1998). In interior Alaska, broods use >1 ha semi-permanent and permanent wetlands characterized by cattail and sedge (van Horn 1991).
Austin, J. E., C. M. Custer, and A. D. Afton. 1998. Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis). In The Birds of North America, Vol. 9, No. 338 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists’ Union.
NatureServe. 2007b. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 6.2. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available http://www.natureserve.org/explorer.
van Horn, K. 1991. Habitat use and activity patterns of interior Alaskan waterbirds. Master’s thesis, Univ. of Missouri, Columbia.