Recently Hal Opperman asked if anyone had good photos of the female tufted
duck or tufted duck hybrid along Lowell-Larimer Road. I don't have any
photos because I don't have a camera, but the bird is still there. I saw
her yesterday. The location, if anyone wants to see this bird up close, is
a tiny farm pond just South of the Everett city limits along Lowell-Larimer
Road. It's next to a red barn. Steve Mlodinow had reported this bird as a
hybrid, but to me it looks like a nearly normal female tufted duck. The
bird, however, has a bill that more closely resembles illustrations of a
male's bill. Also, it has a white patch at the base of the bill. This
patch is similar to that of a lesser scaup female, but more diffuse, less
concentrated. (I checked out lesser scaups for comparison at Everett
Sewerage ponds immediately after having seen the tufted type duck.) The
pond is not far from I-5. Lowell-Larimer begins at the 41st Ave. exit S.
of Everett.



Greg

Greg Toffic
Curator of Birds
Woodland Park Zoo "Black holes are where God
5500 Phinney Avenue N. divided by zero."
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 684-4836 (Ph)
(206)233-7278 (FAX)