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Tweeters,
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Yesterday, I visited the 'Woodland Bottoms' looking for the Clark's Grebe reported by Russ Koppendrayer?at the Columbia River access?south of Caples Road. No luck finding the Clark's among the 75 plus Westerns, although many were sleeping with tucked heads.
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However, among the grebes were scattered Lesser Scaup and another diver with a profile similar to?a Ring-necked Duck. It had a dark, tufted head, gray bill with black tip (no rings),?black back, and gray sides.?It appeared to be a?Tufted Duck in eclipse plumage, but according to Sibley, drakes should have white sides by this time of year.
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My questions:?Are some individuals (sub-adults)?late in obtaining white sides;?is more than one-year required?to reach complete maturity, or could this be a?hybrid. Any ideas?
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Ron Friesz
Ridgefield, WA
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rcfriesz at yahoo dot com