Bird was showing well this morning and managed to get a few more photos for the record. Nice to get a couple with the Ring-necked in the same frame as the Lesser Scaup.
A couple of thoughts as I don't know much about Ring-necked Ducks:
Bill appears very long and the bill/forehead line very straight
Should there be vermiculated grey flank feathers?
Brilliant find Gareth - thanks very much.
*Additional photos from this afternoon added below showing wing bar and bird in better light.
With Tufted and Pochard
Best of the bird by itself
With the Lesser Scaup
4 comments:
Hi Peter, good to finally meet you in the field/bay earlier.
I think you're right about the bill appearing long, but in my opinion not unduly so for the species. I thought the bill and forehead 'jizz' looked good for RND when it had chance to dry the head feathers - I'm often surprised how flat-headed LS's can look in between dives! The vermiculation on grey flanks starting to appear was noticeable in the field in certain lights, but when compared to the LS seemed subtle enough not to be a concern.
Having seen the bird in the field alongside the other ducks present, earlier today, I remain confident that we'll see it develop into a very smart looking drake RND. All we need is a bit of luck for it to stay a month or two.
Hi Peter, there are photos of 1st winter drake ring necked ducks on Scilly and Chew in October and November respectively. Both show variable amounts of grey in the flanks. I agree with Mark I don't think the bill should be a worry. In most of the photos I have seen of ring necked ducks the bill appears long. I think the head profile emphasises this feature.
No problems with this, in so far as I can see, rock solid 1w male R-n Duck, very nice find Gareth.
Forgot to mention earlier that it was a great set of photos. Your afternoon additions are even better. Excellent stuff!!
Post a Comment