Diving Ducks!
Wintering waterfowl can be difficult given the conditions that exist while viewing. While the two species photographed here are up close and both involve the males; usually this close distance is not encountered in the field.
What we are seeing in the bottom photos are most certainly a member of the Aythya genus ducks. I say this for numerous reasons. I have noticed the birds here to be larger ducks with blocky head shapes, dark backs and uniformly colored heads. We have males in both photographs so we should be easily able to determine the species there. I will discuss the female duck below later on in the post.
Aythya genus ducks comprise of Redhead, Canvasback, Tufted Duck, Ring-Necked Duck, and both Scaup spp. (Greater and Lesser), that have been recorded in the USA. Given the genus and larger size we know these ducks are divers and not dabblers.
If we look at the male above we can automatically scratch out Redhead and Canvasback due to the lack of any crimson/red on the head which is evident in all seasons and molts. Tufted would ordinarily show a series of plumes extending from the nape, but more convincing here is the lack of a crisp black back all the way through (very contrasting back to flank coloration). The uniform colored bill tells me this is a Scaup species. Which one?
When looking at Scaups there are three things that one would want to focus on. In order of importance you would look at the head shape, contrast between the back color and flanks, and size of nail on the tip of the bill. This bird shows a roundish head with a slight peak on the back of the head near the nape. Furthermore, we can see that the dark back fades into a grayish color on the upper flanks lacking the sharp black/white contrast we would expect with the Greater Scaup. We can see almost no black nail on the tip of the bill! Greater Scaup shows a large nail on the bill, but this is mainly evident only at very close distances. The head shape is key! Greater Scaup would show a flat back portion of the head and rounded up front while the Lesser Scaup would show a peaked nape making the head look more blocky than a Greater Scaup. For all these reasons this bird is a clear male adult wintering Lesser Scaup.
Notice the white bordering on the bill here as well as the multi-colored facet of the bill. This lovely pair are Ring-necked Ducks are typical of what we would expect in the field. These birds can appear longer necked than Scaup sp. with a much more pronounced peak on the nape. We can also see the black tipped bill, the white triangle near the chest that extends onto the back, and the white base of the bill.
One might say, "Well, you have talked about males ducks, but what about the females?" I would agree. If you have one female duck that fits into the genus we have discussed here then that would provide the real ID challenge. The female Ring-necked Duck above has a very noticeable pale eye ring that sports a flare behind the eye. It king of looks like a whisp so-to-speak. Lesser and Greater Scaup have very uniformly dark heads with white around the base of the bill. While we can see white at the base of this lady Ringer's bill you might notice the pale throat and lower cheek. This is expected in female Ring-necked Ducks. From a distance this is still pretty easy to see.
If the two species of Scaup are in a mixed-group then one could use the larger size of the Greater Scaup to differentiate and make the ID, but with the female Scaups the one key ID feature is the head shape as discussed above.
Other factors that come into play involve place of sighting as well. Usually, Ring-Necked Ducks prefer smaller inland ponds and such. Lesser Scaups prefer inland bays and larger lakes. Greater Scaups are mainly coastal, but where they do winter inland (i.e. Front Range Colorado) they can usually be found on large reservoirs. Always make sure to bring yourself up to speed with the expected whereabouts of a particular species in that season before going through the ID process. Range distribution can be a huge help in determining what might be expected at a greater percentage in your area.
The male Lesser Scaup above was photographed by Mike Freiberg with a Nikon D300 and a 500mm F4 Nikkor lens at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville, FL.
The pair of Ring-necked Ducks were photographed by Mike Freiberg with a Nikon D200 and a 300mm F4 Nikkor lens in Fort Collins, CO.
For information regarding Nikon optics please visit www.nikonbirding.com.
What we are seeing in the bottom photos are most certainly a member of the Aythya genus ducks. I say this for numerous reasons. I have noticed the birds here to be larger ducks with blocky head shapes, dark backs and uniformly colored heads. We have males in both photographs so we should be easily able to determine the species there. I will discuss the female duck below later on in the post.
Aythya genus ducks comprise of Redhead, Canvasback, Tufted Duck, Ring-Necked Duck, and both Scaup spp. (Greater and Lesser), that have been recorded in the USA. Given the genus and larger size we know these ducks are divers and not dabblers.
If we look at the male above we can automatically scratch out Redhead and Canvasback due to the lack of any crimson/red on the head which is evident in all seasons and molts. Tufted would ordinarily show a series of plumes extending from the nape, but more convincing here is the lack of a crisp black back all the way through (very contrasting back to flank coloration). The uniform colored bill tells me this is a Scaup species. Which one?
When looking at Scaups there are three things that one would want to focus on. In order of importance you would look at the head shape, contrast between the back color and flanks, and size of nail on the tip of the bill. This bird shows a roundish head with a slight peak on the back of the head near the nape. Furthermore, we can see that the dark back fades into a grayish color on the upper flanks lacking the sharp black/white contrast we would expect with the Greater Scaup. We can see almost no black nail on the tip of the bill! Greater Scaup shows a large nail on the bill, but this is mainly evident only at very close distances. The head shape is key! Greater Scaup would show a flat back portion of the head and rounded up front while the Lesser Scaup would show a peaked nape making the head look more blocky than a Greater Scaup. For all these reasons this bird is a clear male adult wintering Lesser Scaup.
Notice the white bordering on the bill here as well as the multi-colored facet of the bill. This lovely pair are Ring-necked Ducks are typical of what we would expect in the field. These birds can appear longer necked than Scaup sp. with a much more pronounced peak on the nape. We can also see the black tipped bill, the white triangle near the chest that extends onto the back, and the white base of the bill.
One might say, "Well, you have talked about males ducks, but what about the females?" I would agree. If you have one female duck that fits into the genus we have discussed here then that would provide the real ID challenge. The female Ring-necked Duck above has a very noticeable pale eye ring that sports a flare behind the eye. It king of looks like a whisp so-to-speak. Lesser and Greater Scaup have very uniformly dark heads with white around the base of the bill. While we can see white at the base of this lady Ringer's bill you might notice the pale throat and lower cheek. This is expected in female Ring-necked Ducks. From a distance this is still pretty easy to see.
If the two species of Scaup are in a mixed-group then one could use the larger size of the Greater Scaup to differentiate and make the ID, but with the female Scaups the one key ID feature is the head shape as discussed above.
Other factors that come into play involve place of sighting as well. Usually, Ring-Necked Ducks prefer smaller inland ponds and such. Lesser Scaups prefer inland bays and larger lakes. Greater Scaups are mainly coastal, but where they do winter inland (i.e. Front Range Colorado) they can usually be found on large reservoirs. Always make sure to bring yourself up to speed with the expected whereabouts of a particular species in that season before going through the ID process. Range distribution can be a huge help in determining what might be expected at a greater percentage in your area.
The male Lesser Scaup above was photographed by Mike Freiberg with a Nikon D300 and a 500mm F4 Nikkor lens at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville, FL.
The pair of Ring-necked Ducks were photographed by Mike Freiberg with a Nikon D200 and a 300mm F4 Nikkor lens in Fort Collins, CO.
For information regarding Nikon optics please visit www.nikonbirding.com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment