ML646429540

Observation details

Solitary bird. Bill is broad and meets the head in a u rather than a v at the top. Crown knob in front of eye. Peg consistent with Greater female in ebird library ML61815271, spreading slightly, but does not seem definitive. Wide lower cheeks, but within range of either species. Larger white facial patches, which wrap around the edge of the base of the bill (need to study this further). Eye color hard to see. I initially thought this was a Greater Scaup but out of caution left it as a slash. In 2025, revisited these photos and studied against various references at length (the Birdzilla Sam Crowe comparison article is excellent). Then ran them through AI programs which make bird Greater Scaup. Am now revising this bird again to Greater Scaup, based primarily on the knob position at the front of the head. This id challenge is much more difficult than is generally appreciated, and am not totally sure. Of interest, one of the local duck experts reported a Greater Scaup on this same date, same lake, subsequent year (Dec 4, 2025).