ML110416731

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Continuing bird found yesterday by Neysha Frechette and Don Sterba; at northeast corner of the marsh, near the blue dumpster. Excellent and close views; positively glowing in the evening light. Unmistakable: an elegant, large, buff-orange duck with a slim neck and a slightly peaked crown toward the rear. The long neck and legs, combined with the long tertials but short primaries and tail all lent to a somewhat stump-ended appearance. The crown was a slightly darker brown band than the head, and darkened into a more distinct stripe running down the nape. This dark nape stripe was bordered by a faint silvery line that extended into a collar around the base of the neck; the feathers in the cheek and the neck had a distinct striated aspect. The back and wings were mostly dark blackish, with the scapulars boldly tipped in buff-orange, creating a scalloped look. I noted some faint burgundy hues in the wings, mostly in the greater coverts.The body was mostly buffy-orange, though the flanks were made of long feathers with bold white centers, creating a distinctive look of a series of big white crescents; when the duck was swimming, these were often flared high along the sides of the wings. While swimming, the bird flapped several times, revealing all-dark underwings. The tail was short and blackish, but contrasted with the white uppertail and undertail coverts. The bill was medium-long and gray (almost blue-toned), and the legs were a similar color and overall long and stout. The eye was dark. While I first saw the duck standing upright on a patch of mud, it soon began swimming. I was surprised to see it take repeated dives into the algae-filled water--not a behavior I was aware that any whistling-ducks did. After sunset, I heard several wheezy 'fizeww!' calls and briefly saw the duck circling around and landing in reeds toward the southeast portion of the marsh. Photos and description to be submitted to CBRC. Hopefully enough photos have been gathered to permit a feather-by-feather analysis to determine if this is the same bird that was frequenting Santa Barbara County this spring, which disappeared soon before this bird showed up. Presumably the main point of contention will be about the bird's origin; while likely unknowable, it seems neither this nor the Santa Barbara bird show any signs of captivity, with clearly unclipped wings and no leg bands.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

640

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/2500 sec

Dimensions

3793 pixels x 2529 pixels

Original file size

1.92 MB