During winter, particularly when flooded, the Ouse Washes attract large numbers of wildfowl. Many of these, such as Teal, Anas crecca, Pintail, A. acuta, and Mallard, A. platyrhynchos, feed on seeds floating on the surface of the floodwater. These ducks often exploit local concentrations of seeds caught up with other flood debris around vegetation protruding above the water's surface.