Re: [SBB] Conventional Wisdom, 8/4/07

["Alvaro Jaramillo" <[[email protected]]>]

I'm with Bill, 

   Some of the diving ducks in summer can be downright difficult, and
tricky. Many references also miss the fact that they can look rather
different in the breeding season than in the winter. The biggest "a-ha!"
moment I had on this was when I first visited Alberta, where many diving
ducks breed. There were Goldeneye females all over the place, but none had
any yellow on the bill. Some I could identify as Barrow's based on head
shape, but they had completely black bills. The Commons also had completely
black bills. I figured they must be black billed in summer, and indeed they
are. But by the time they get down south, their bill color changes. Less
subtle are the changes in scaup. They do tend to show that pale half moon on
the ear coverts, but they also lack white around the face and the weirdest
bit of all is that sometimes they show a weak iridescence to the brown head
color. The shape differences of the head are less reliable, as crown
feathers can be worn. They are tricky indeed, and I think that the books do
a better job now than ten years ago, but still the full extent of how
different some female ducks can look in the breeding areas is not well
described. 

Cheers

Al

Alvaro Jaramillo
[[email protected]]
Half Moon Bay, California
 
Field Guides - Birding Tours Worldwide
www.fieldguides.com

-----Original Message-----
From: [[email protected]]
[mailto:[[email protected]]] On Behalf Of Bill Bousman
Sent: Saturday, August 04, 2007 9:05 PM
To: Jim Thomas; [[email protected]]
Subject: [SBB] Conventional Wisdom, 8/4/07

Folks:

Lesser Scaup have bred irregularly in the Bay area for at least one 
hundred years.  The first time they were found in the South Bay was 
the early 1980s and they have nested regularly for the last 20 
years.  Probably the greatest concentrations in the last decade has 
been at the Sunnyvale WPCP ponds.  They are late nesters and young 
birds are seldom seen before August.  Along the south channel last 
week, although I saw two pairs, there were no young yet.  The female 
Lesser Scaup in summer looks quite different from a winter bird.  To 
me, her coloration seems a warm brown or rufous, much richer than a 
winter bird.  Few females show white around the bill, but instead 
they often have a white or pale ear patch.  Conventional wisdom holds 
that with modern field guides, the identification of a female Lesser 
Scaup is no longer a problem.  This reminds me of Mammy Yokum's 
frequent statement "As any fool can plainly see. . . ." which was 
always answered by L'il Abner, "Ah, sees."  Female Lesser Scaup have, 
in the past, caused much confusion and consternation in the South Bay 
in summer, particularly when they were accompanied by young 
ducklings.  Most of us are unwilling to admit that WE were ever 
confused, and sometimes comment on the failings of 
others.  Conventional wisdom in this situation has been a fairly long 
and painful learning process.  Welcome, Jim.

Bill

At 05:43 PM 8/4/2007, you wrote:
>After a good look at the well reported FRANKLIN'S GULL which was feeding
>on the east side of West Pond, around noon today, I hiked out the levee
>along the channel going NE from the radar tower. In the NE corner of
>East Pond were about 20 female PINTAILS and about 50 NORTHERN SHOVELER'S.
>
>Help appreciated on the following. Walking back, about 100 yards from
>the tower, I had a good look at a lone duck in the channel. It had the
>shape of a Lesser Scaup. The head was bright brown. There was no white
>around the bill or anywhere else on the head. No tuft was visible.
>Feathers on the top of the head seemed to crest up slightly, giving off
>golden highlights. The bill was solid glossy black. The eyes were bright
>yellow. The body was also brown like the head, though a not so richly
>colored, with some light spots. It showed white on the backs of the
>wings as it flew across East Pond and out of sight over West Pond.
>
>-Jim Thomas
>
>
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