I assume it's an escape. It's not the first to have been reported loose in
the state. There's a record of a male somewhere near Colville about ten
years ago, I forget the details. It's a common enough bird in captivity,
male or female, I suspect, though I don't have access to that sort of data.
Apparently it is not on the official AOU" or ABA North American lists,
despite having appeared various places often enough before. Somewhat more
worthy of consideration is the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck that hung out
north of Portland some years ago, but that was dismissed also. It's worth
keeping track of such sightings, in any case, in case a pattern should
emerge someday in the future.

Gene Hunn, Seattle, hunnhome at accessone.com

At 06:30 PM 1/13/98 EST, you wrote:
>98-10-12, Patrick Sullivan writes:
>
><< ...RED-CRESTED POCHARD...in Tacoma....(snip)..... >>
>
>What's the scoop on *this*? Is this believed to be a 'wild' bird or an
>escape? Ruth called to tell me about this maybe two weeks ago, but I'd then
>gotten the impression it was down in the Columbia River mouth area somewhere
>in a hard-to-get-to place and was a little dubious of it's genuine 'wild'
>origin. Patrick writes like this has been discussed already and I don't think
>I would have missed it during the past two months or so -- since I haven't
>missed *ANYTHING'* posted on tweeters lately -- that's not exactly a record I
>am proud of btw '-). Any thoughts or opinions for this female Red-crested
>Pochard? I'd guess off the top, most likely an escape from somewhere, but I
>don't know. Thanks. --Richard
>
>Richard Rowlett (Pagodroma at aol.com)
> 47.56N, 122.13W
>(Seattle/Bellevue, WA USA)
>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>Tweeters isn't just an adventure; it's a job! :-))
>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
>