When:

Who:

Where:

County:

Location:

Exact Site:
Harveys Lake

Details: (To view more text, grab the lower-right corner of a field to widen or lengthen the box)

For older records, view original documentation here.

How Many:

Age/Plumage/Sex:
adult male

Habitat:
Middle of Harveys Lake

Distance from bird:
approximately 1,000 feet or less

Viewing Conditions:
Early morning mist after snow/sleet event

Optics Used:
Swarovski 8x42 bincoulars, Vortex Razor HD 27-60x85 Spotting Scope, Nikon D7200 camera with Sigma (745-306 150-600mm lens.

Description:
Medium-sized ducks with a blue-winged teal jizz. Both birds resting low on water. Birds slightly larger than adjacent bufflehead, green-winged teal and ruddy duck but smaller than mallard, gadwall, Northern shoveler, American wigeon, lesser scaup, ring-necked duck and black duck, Most notable was the teal-like profile of the birds with cinnamon flanks, dark backs, blue speculum, dark undertail coverts, cinnamon heads and dark bills. Also, the spatula-shaped bill had that "blue-winged teal" look.

Behavior:
Notable storm related waterfowl fallout at Harveys Lake. Found within several rafts of early morning waterfowl were two Spatula species, which appear to have the characteristics of cinnamon teal.Birds were resting with large group of mixed waterfowl but were at the left side end of raft.

Separation from similar species:
The two teal in the distant photo appear slightly larger than the adjacent buffleheads. Both birds were also larger than nearby ruddy duck and green-winged teal and noticeably smaller than the accompanying waterfowl mentioned above in this report. Their bills were dark in color unlike the bright blue bill of adult male ruddy duck and their bills exhibited that "spatula" look of a cinnamon teal. Photo shows cinnamon-colored heads and dark bills unlike the brownish head and light blue and black-tipped bill of Eurasian wigeon; the reddish head and blue bill of redhead duck; the dark head, white cheek patch and bright blue bill of breeding plumage male ruddy; the contrasting dark and white head of winter male ruddy duck. The solid cinnamon plumage on flanks and contrast dark backs and dark undertail coverts are dissimilar to the white-brown-white flanks of Northern shoveler; the solid ruddy-brown flanks and back of breeding plumaged male ruddy duck and the uniform light brown plumaged back and flanks of female wigeon. Also, the stoic resting profile of both of the teal in the photo did not demonstrate the buoyant floating posture of wigeon. The position of the bluish speculum on the teal on the left side of photo is unlike any ruddy duck, green-winged teal, wigeon, blue-winged teal or northern shoveler. The tails of each bird do not demonstrate the stiff upright tail posture of ruddy ducks.

Discussion:
Considering the storm related waterfowl fallout that morning that consisted of 16 species of migrating waterfowl of approximately 500 individuals certainly presents the possibility of these two rare species of waterfowl.

How positive are you about the identification:
Yes

References:

During the observation:
The Sibley Guide to Birds, eBird, internet searches

After the observation:
eBird, Merlin, The Crossley ID Guide, internet searches

Media:

Photos and Drawings