Greetings All

Well, I seem to have become Mr Hybrid Duck.

Tom Aversa and I had a male hybrid RNDU x scaup near Edison in the ponds at the corner of Farm to Market Rd and Bayview-Edison Rd.

These ponds are viewable from several pull-offs at which one isn't obstructing traffic, or by parking on the north side of Bayview-Edison Road and then crossing to look into ponds. These are relatively new and manmade--- they look like an artificial wetland in process of being created. Nice. But the property is private.

The duck has a mostly RNDU like head-profile, but not quite as peaked. Bill pattern very much like a RNDU. The back color is much like Tufted Duck x scaup hybrids I've seen in the past. Blackish, but not quite black, especially on scapulars. I suspect if we'd been able to get truly good views, grayish vermiculations would have been present in these areas. The sides were whitish. Not quite as white as a male scaup in high breeding plumage, but definitely not the gray of a RNDU. The white "shoulder" stripe typical of RNDU was not present. Indeed, the brightest white area may have been more towards rear flanks. The bird courted a female Lesser Scaup on several occasions and the scaup present were all Lessers, so the scaup parent was most likely a Lesser, but???

Cheers
Steven Mlodinow
Everett WA