ML128022201

Age and sex

Juvenile, Unknown sex - X

Observation details

***mega; photos; hatch-year bird in first-winter plumage; I consider this a likely wild vagrant for several reasons: age, unbanded with halluces intact, flies strongly, in coastal location with great mudflat habitat, early winter date expected in this species, and the recent record of an immature in Newfoundland all strengthen the pattern. Known or presumed escapee records seem uncommon to rare. This bird was easy to identify, with a bright orange or orange-red bill, dark greenish head, white breast, belly, and back, blackish scapulars with narrow chestnut fringes, chestnut tertials gray on inner web and seemed brighter chestnut than in the Newfoundland bird. I did not see dark edging to wing coverts as in excellent photos of Newfoundland bird. Trailing edge of wing with broad (half inch?) white edge extending to inner primaries (I think). Chestnut ring around upper breast extending to upper back; ventral area with faint chestnut wash also. The shape was distinctive, with a narrow neck and blocky head. Size was about 50% larger than Mallard but smaller than Brant. It never tipped up when feeding, instead swimming out in the copepod (?) zone where Bonaparte's were feeding and swimming with its long neck entirely submerged. This was in contrast to the Anas ducks which stayed in the algae zone closer to shore. Later, just before flying off to the south, it joined with the Anas ducks and behaved as a flock member.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT

ISO

800

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/200 sec

Dimensions

887 pixels x 591 pixels

Original file size

384.75 KB