Standlake Pit 60
OTHER SPECIES: Late on Saturday 6th Nov in poor/fading I found an Aythya duck at pit 60 that, at first glance, looked pretty good for an adult Male Ferruginous Duck. Given the known concerns about lookalike hybrids, I was cautious re ID. However, poor viewing conditions, distance and an active bird made it hard to discern critical ID features eg exact iris colour, bill pattern plumage tones ( looked dull except head). It also looked as big as tufted duck, which is often cited as hybrid feature. Coincidentally, Ian E arrived but we couldn't be definite on these features. I didn't want to have folk wasting time coming to see it if it proved a hybrid so decided to check next day. No sign of it Sunday. It had appeared with a small influx of tufted and pochard. I have some g mediocre phone footage. It seems to show dark marks on the white belly; usually a hybrid feature. But it is quite a good lookalike for Ferruginous. Pity it wasn't seen in daylight. I'll look at video again when more time. And try to post a clip. It won't be high quality! But thought I'd alert folk. 21:19.
Mick Cunningham
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