ML646421367

Observation details

Not expected, even as a “storm bird”. Notes on the spot. In the first glance, a dark waterbird dove away from me with a very high-arching dive so that the head struck the water almost perpendicular. That profile caught my attention. The bird was by itself in the middle of the lake, west of the causeway about 200 feet and then moving westward another 200 feet more when I set up my scope. A small duck, completely black from all angles, sitting low in the water. Compact head, short neck, no noticeable eye color. Shallow, flat bill with a large, pale orange patch covering most of the upper part but not the edge and nail. Adult drake.