Hi Tweets,

I was also struck by an unusual "teal" on the afternoon of Dec 30 and the
morning of Dec 31, which I wrote off as an unusual Green-winged Teal.
Having no previous experience with Garganey, I consulted "Birds of Europe"
(Mullarney et al, Princeton, 1999) before I went out to Magnuson Park.
After some study of the female Garganey, Green-winged (*albeit the European
"Common"*) and Blue-winged Teals illustrated side-by-side in this book, it
seemed that the true test was to separate the female Garganey from a female
Blue-winged Teal, rather than a Green-winged (GWTE). According to this
book, Garganey (GARG) and Blue-winged (BWTE) are identical in size (*37-41cm
- while "Common" are slightly smaller at 34-38cm*). Both BWTE and GARG also
exhibit a pale patch at the base of the bill, but the facial markings,
though similar, are more contrasting on the female GARG with the addition of
second, softer dark line that parallels the supercilium across the cheek.

One field mark they highlighted was a pale patch of feathers just to the
side of the GWTE undertail coverts, which both GARG and BWTE lack. I found
this to be quite helpful in the field and found it interesting that all GWTE
at Magnuson exhibited this field mark. If I remember correctly, the unusual
"Green-winged Teal" (assumed to be the teal in question) did exhibit this
patch but it was more streaked than on other GWTE present. I quickly moved
past it because my search image was an unusual female BWTE which I had yet
to find.

I would love the opportunity to study this bird closer so if anyone has
photos, please post them.

Above all else, I really appreciated the opportunity to explore this new
habitat. It will certainly only improve as it matures!

--
Adam Sedgley
S e a t t l e, WA
sedge.thrasher [at] gmail [dot] com


On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 3:26 PM, Matt Bartels <mattxyz at earthlink.net> wrote:

>
> Hi Tweets -
>
> A question for the "Garganey" watchers this weekend: Was the 'odd' duck
> that many of us observed the same bird as the one described by Gene & Brien?
> I think of all the people there, someone must have taken some pictures of
> that odd one. I ran across many people who commented on it, at least.
>
> If anyone has pictures of it, it might help to share those via a url or
> email -- Gene & Brien in particular might be able to compare it with what
> they observed to see whether it looks familiar.
>
> Best,
>
> Matt Bartels
> Seattle, WA
>
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: Eugene and Nancy Hunn
> >Sent: Jan 5, 2010 12:55 PM
> >To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> >Subject: [Tweeters] re. the Maguson Park "Garganey"
> >
> >Tweets,
> >
> >
> >
> >After an study of the bird in question last Sunday and after comparisons
> of
> >various photos of the bird in question and comparison shots, Brien and I
> are
> >of the opinion that it is probably not a Garganey. That leaves the
> question
> >of what it might be otherwise. Most likely a quite odd, seemingly aberrant
> >Green-winged or Common Teal. Aberrant in that the speculum borders are
> very
> >conspicuous while those of virtually all the Green-winged Teal we've
> >observed are invisible on the swimming bird and rather obscure when
> visible.
> >The face pattern provides a superficial match to a female-type Garganey
> but
> >is not as contrasting as it should be and is identical to at least some
> >female Green-winged Teals. The bird in question behaves in an unusual
> >fashion, not only by diving repeatedly but also by avoiding the other
> teals
> >there and demonstrating much more active feeding and some aggressive
> >interactions with a male Green-winged Teal. The behavior and the striking
> >speculum borders are what first called our attention to the bird and what
> >made it stand out as something quite out of the ordinary. However, the
> >behaviors don't clearly point to a Garganey, nor to a Green-winged or
> Common
> >Teal either.
> >
> >
> >
> >Our apologies to those who got wet and tired looking for it. At least it
> was
> >a learning experience and highlights a new and promising bit of habitat
> here
> >in Seattle. If you are in the vicinity please see if you can pick it out,
> as
> >we're still quite puzzled as to it's true identity. Better photos desired.
> >
> >
> >
> >Gene Hunn (Brien concurs)
> >
> >Lake Forest Park, WA
> >
> >enhunn323 at comcast.net
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
> http://mailman2.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>
>
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