Tweets -

On Saturday, December 16, I saw two Blue-winged Teal on a shallow marsh on the West
Rocky Prairie Wildlife Area, 2-1/2 miles northwest of Tenino, Thurston County. (Also seen
on the marsh waters: 5 Mallard, 1 female Bufflehead.)

One was clearly a male Blue-wing in some phase of eclipse plumage, with a "ragged"
facial crescent. (Well, "clearly" once I determined it was not a sub-eclipse male Northern
Shoveler.) Of this bird I had clear but distant telescope views.

The other one was a test of patience: frequent but distant views filtered through shoreline
shrubbery branches, it clearly lacked any hint of a facial crescent. Later, from a closer
view-point I saw that the bill was all black (and that in low-level, direct sunlight its white
under-tail coverts were surprisingly vivid). Now vocal, it's calls seemed unfamiliarly
high-pitched. Later, at home, comparing recordings of Teal calls, with my memory of its
tones, I eliminated possibility of it being a Green-wing or a Cinnamon.

My only other sighting of Blue-wings this time of year was on 4 December 1978 on Long
Lake, Thurston Co.



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Doug Canning, Olympia Wash.
dcanning3 at comcast dot net
dcanning at scattercreek dot com
dcanning at igc dot org
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