Two Ducks for ID, please

Trik · #1 (**permalink**) 04-02-2011, 12:09 AM

These two ducks were seen at Blashford Lakes yesterday. I thought that Duck A was a female Pochard, except for the white throat. A hybrid, perhaps?

Duck B1/B2 was very small, flat and round and didn`t dive or dabble - it just swam very quickly and purposefully towards Goosander Hide, stayed for a few minutes (perhaps hoping for a hand-out!) and then swam off again.

Trik

Ferret · #2 (**permalink**) 04-02-2011, 12:31 AM

The first bird looks like a Pochard Aythya ferina to me but as you say it has a lot of white on the head, cannot think of a hybrid that would give that affect so cannot help there realy and will leave that to others.

The second bird is much easier it’s a female Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis.

Ferret

aeshna5 · #3 (**permalink**) 04-02-2011, 04:52 AM

The first bird looks like a standard female Pochard rather than a hybrid- just lacking some pigmentation on some of the head feathers.

Agree second is one of the few remaining Ruddy Ducks!

solus · #4 (**permalink**) 04-02-2011, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aeshna5

Agree second is one of the few remaining Ruddy Ducks!

And now its location has been posted, it isn't likely to remain much longer!

Trik · #5 (**permalink**) 04-02-2011, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solus

And now its location has been posted, it isn't likely to remain much longer!

Is that because they interbreed with other ducks and are considered detrimental to UK species - or because they are tasty? Or both?

Had I known that it was a Ruddy Duck, I wouldn`t have given the location so readily perhaps. I thought she was a cute little thing...

Thanks for the IDs.

Trik

aeshna5 · #6 (**permalink**) 04-02-2011, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trik

Is that because they interbreed with other ducks and are considered detrimental to UK species - or because they are tasty? Or both?

Had I known that it was a Ruddy Duck, I wouldn`t have given the location so readily perhaps. I thought she was a cute little thing...

Thanks for the IDs.

Trik

They are not so much a problem here as we don't have the Eurasian species the White-headed Duck with which Ruddies do hybridise, but Ruddies can reach those countries where the other stifftail occurs. Plenty of threads on this so won't get into the politics.