Hi Tweets,

I spent a few very enjoyable hours at the fill this morning. The only
Shorebirds to speak of were 6 Western Sandpipers and lots of Killdeer.
I also had my first Heerman's Gull of the season...it was harrasing an
eagle.

While there, I spent half an hour (actually closer to 45 minutes)
watching a duck, and I still can't figure out what it was. I was
scanning the big pond, and first passed this bird off as another female
mallard. Then, when I stopped to get a better look at it, it was gone!
I noticed a small circle of ripples where the duck had been. After
several seconds, it resurfaced next to a female Mallard, allowing a
couple of seconds of comparison beofre it dove again.

It was obviously not a Mallard. Because of its smaller body size, she
sat lower in the water than a Mallard. In addition, the bill color was
all wrong, it completely lacked the orange of a female Mallard (or
yellow of the male). Instead, the bill was a uniform gray. This bird
dove just like a diving duck, and didn't tip-up at all like a dabbler.
When she went down, she stayed down for an average of about 5 or 6
seconds and often resurfaced some distance away. I didn't notice any
speculum color at all. I did get good looks at the tail though. She
had white margins on the tail...they seemed wider and whiter than on
the Mallards around her. Underneath the tail was pure white. The legs
were orange (I think).

Her overall color was similar to the Mallards, but much more washed in
color...not nearly as dark. In addition, The bill was a slightly
different shape. It was slightly wider than the mallard, and not quite
as long. The face/head was also wider than a Mallard. Another thing
which seemed interesting was the fact that the tail was held up at an
angle like the Mallards, not flat against the water like many divers.

When I came back tot eh fill at 2:30 I didn't see her.


Anyone have any ideas??

Michael Dossett
Bothell
Phainopepla at yahoo.com

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