One Colorado Rarity Makes Way For Another
This last Sunday was a great day in the field for Colorado birders. Birds were being found left and right and it was evident that most of Colorado's mainstay birding crowd was out in the field. The Front Range had just seen a couple of small snow dumps and with the temperature dropping, much of the water nearby began to freeze. This of course, helps concentrate the birds a bit more and makes them a bit easier to find. Bill Schmoker, Nikon Birding ProStaff, and I spent much of the morning in the area of Longmont, CO. A body of water known as Union Reservoir had two Little Gulls (a great Colorado bird) present including a first-winter and a basic adult. There were a few Bonaparte's Gulls to sift through, but the Little Gull never appeared for us. However, it may have if we didn't decide to ditch that bird for another one. Later on in the morning Bill got a call from friend and fellow gonzo-birder, Steve Mlodinow who called to tell us he had just found a Tufted Duck. The better news, it was only ten minutes from our location at that time, so we burned rubber to go get it.
This Tufted Duck (right) was conveniently placed next to a Lesser Scaup in this photo. As per Steve Mlodinow, the whitish area of the vent is a decent clue to use when identifying a Tufted Duck. Of course, the tuft protruding from the back of the nape will not always be seen.
That mention of the white vent which is visible here applies to females, which this bird was. The murky coloration is similar to that of female Scaups and female Ring-necked Ducks, but Tufted Ducks are much darker. Female Tufted Ducks show less white on the face when comparing Ring-necks and have far less white on the bill. This species is abundant throughout most of it's regular range across Europe and Asia, but occurs in the US often enough to keep it on your radar.
Note the bold yellow eye in this photo above. How would you describe the bill? Can you see the white vent? In the photo we notice how dark the face is. A female Ring-necked Duck would show white around the bill, a white eye-ring and a white spur post-ocular line. Of course, as we were standing there trying to get good shots something came in and scared the multitude of Scaups, Ring-necked Ducks, Canvasbacks, Buffleheads, Goldeneye and Redheads there and they all flew off. This means that we have a Tufted Duck in the area and it is up to other birders to try to find it again.
I love being in the right place at the right time and feel totally lucky to have seen this bird yesterday. Bill Schmoker had digiscoped these photos using a Nikon 65mm EDG Fieldscope in bad lighting. We would like to thank Steve Mlodinow for the find and Bill Schmoker for documenting this rarely seen bird in Colorado.
I love being in the right place at the right time and feel totally lucky to have seen this bird yesterday. Bill Schmoker had digiscoped these photos using a Nikon 65mm EDG Fieldscope in bad lighting. We would like to thank Steve Mlodinow for the find and Bill Schmoker for documenting this rarely seen bird in Colorado.
2 comments:
The picture clarity is a hindrance in the way of true recognition of such spectacular shots. I wish the color and clarity were more real to justify the natural capture.
What a strange and interesting looking duck. It almost reminds me of Falcated Duck (or is it teal?).
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