Well, I can't even hazard a guess at the mystery duck but this is eclipse
plumage time which always confuses the heck out of me. I saw a lot of wood
duck males in eclipse at Snake Lake in Tacoma last week.
Rahne Kirkham
rahne at mindspring.com
Federal Way, Washington

When asked why she was always so cheerful,
the old woman replied,
"Well, I just wear this world as a loose garment."
----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Dossett <phainopepla at yahoo.com>
To: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Friday, July 23, 1999 7:02 PM
Subject: strange duck at Montlake Fill this morning...


> 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
>
> _________________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Get your free at yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
>
>