BirdingGirl

I'm not the greatest at identifying hybrids- I've blogged about them twice before with mixed results (one was likely some kind of domestic duck hybrid , and the other was a Green-winged Teal , which was actually a rarity for the time of year I saw it)- BUT I'll give it a shot anyway. I'd love to know everyone's thoughts!   I was in Beach Haven, NJ this past June for a friend's wedding. As part of the festivities we went to the rehearsal dinner, which was hosted by another one of their friends with a canal-front home. There were two different families of mallard ducks swimming close to the dock- looking for a free meal. I noticed that one of the female mallards (or "hens") had an unusual amount of white on her neck and wing. Does anyone have any idea what type of mallard hybrid this might be? Mallard Hybrid:  

These mallard hybrid pictures were taken at Scargo Lake in Dennis (on Cape Cod) during our vacation this past August. We were vacationing with our friends Dave and Meg, and I asked Dave what kind he thought they were since he's a hunter, wildlife biologist, and general expert on the subject of birds - especially ducks. He said they looked like a hybrid- probably mallard hybrid and domestic duck. It's funny because these ducks just wouldn't learn- they kept coming in dangerously close to our rental house's dock, only to be chased off by Dave and Meg's dog Foster , who's a trained hunting dog. He had a lot of fun doing it each time though, so no harm no fowl :) Just look at this precious boy- such a cutie!

Wow- it's hard to believe it was over 2 years ago that I wrote a post wondering about mallard hybrids . I had seen a green-winged teal for the first time and I was very confused about what I was looking at- is this a seagull with a mallard head? haha Juvenile mallard ducks are quite interesting because of the blue mark on their wings. I always get excited when I see that- thinking it could be some type of teal, wood duck, or other interesting duck species. Nope- just a juvenile mallard! These pictures were taken in Plymouth, MA at the beginning of the pathway that goes to the to the Jenney Grist Mill. Steve and I went for a random drive and walk around Plymouth back in mid-October. We live so close! There's really a lot to see and do there, and Plymouth Harbor is also a great birding spot. I saw the Ivory Gull there back in 2009

Thanks again for all the tips in identifying the 'Mystery Bird' from my jogging trip a few weeks ago. As I explained, I initially thought it was a mallard hybrid, I received multiple tips that it was a green-winged teal, and my friend Dave also got in on the action, sharing that he thought it was an American Widgeon. This was based on his knowledge that green-winged teals should not be this far south this time of year ('they are one of the first birds to head south in the fall'), and that it did not look small enough among the mallards in the picture I had posted. I kept trying to cross-check it but I kept forgetting the name he used, thinking he said 'midgeon.' Finally I was able to get confirmation that it was widgeon and just look a moment to look them up. I can see the similarities but it's not the same bird I captured. I found this picture on The Bird Zoo . Click on the picture to visit the duck section- it's worth scrolling through the whole list- ...

As I mentioned in my previous post, I noticed what I thought was a seagull among the mallard ducks hanging out on the ice along the Charles River. It wasn't until I got home and inspected my pictures on the computer that I realized it had green on its head just like a mallard! I did a little research on mallard hybrids but I couldn't find any that had this type of coloring on the head- mostly brown with only a stripe of green over the eyes. Thanks goes out to Bennet for help in identifying this dabbling duck. Like I said, I saw the green and immediately started thinking mallard hybrid after reading that many other species are attracted the male's green head hence the many variations (such as the black duck x mallard hybrid). If I had taken time to go through the entire dabbling ducks section of my Sibley Guide I would have seen the Green-winged Teal, whose picture looks exactly like this duck. I learned that the Teal is one of smallest ducks along with the bufflehead and m...