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<DIV style=3D"BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent=3B --14dae93408cf94042104cc6b58f3 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Hello James, I few thoughts which came to mind as I was reading your post: 1. An aberrant individual of one of the common species. 2. A domestic duck escaped from captivity. (There are quite a few fanciers and quite a number of domestic breeds, including crosses between the various breeds.) 3. A hybrid, where one should consider not only wild birds, but crosses between domestic and wild birds and back-crosses in subsequent generations. And finally, although a very long shot, your description reminded me of a female Fulvous Whistling Duck. Enjoy to challenge and hope you get to see the duck again, with better luck with your camera! Cheers! Ron On Fri, Oct 19, 2012 at 11:36 AM, James Hirtle <jrhbirder@hotmail.com>wrote: > Thank you Paul. I ruled out a ring-necked duck as the bird that I saw > was much lighter and the way it sat on the water and swam did not fit in > with a ring-necked duck. It's actions and build were more like that of a > teal and that is why I thought initially that it might be a female > blue-winged teal. The bill shape also was more like that ot a pintail. > The coloration of the bird as per the body and the black wing tips is > reflective of a cinnamon teal, but the size of the bird would rule that > option out. I thought about a female garganey, but the bird was not that > dark and I did not see an eyeline. Have you ever seen a female northern > pintail with black on the last three to four inches of the wings? If not > I'm drawing a blank as to what the duck might have been. The pintail would > be the most logical choice, but I can't say that I was able to see the > extended tail. Maybe that would not show in a juvenile. I've not had > enough experience with them to know. Again I appreciate your knowledge and > look forward to what you think. Thank you again. > > Sincerely, > > James > > > > James R. Hirtle > > > ------------------------------ > Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2012 06:25:39 -0700 > From: paulrita2001@yahoo.com > Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Unknown duck > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca > > > The most likely duck in Nova Scotia for a duck slightly smaller > than a black is a Ring-necked Duck? > Why would you not rule that out first? > Paul > > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* James Hirtle <jrhbirder@hotmail.com> > *To:* Naturens Naturens <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca> > *Sent:* Friday, October 19, 2012 12:42:29 AM > *Subject:* [NatureNS] Unknown duck > > Hi all: > > A number of weeks back I had a mystery duck at Broad Cove. It was a rainy > day and my initial impression was of a blue-winged teal. Upon closer > inspection through the scope I decided that my id was wrong. The duck > bothered me as it was smaller than an American black duck nearby, but not > by a whole lot. So I ruled out teal. I'm now thinking maybe a female > northern pintail. It was a light brown/tawny color with a black bill. The > body shape definitely was distinctive of a pintail. The part that bothers > me about the id is that the wings folded over the back were jet black. Not > the whole wing, but about three or four inches of the wing ends. I've > ruled out gadwall as the tail would have been black. If this is a > feature on a female pintail, I've never noticed it before, the books do not > really show that as an id. Maybe it was a juvenile bird. Paul MacDonald, > I know has had a lot of experience with ducks and if you read this Paul I > would really appreciate your opinion. Of course anyone else with knowledge > along those lines, I also would appreciate your thoughts and thank you in > advance. I tried to get photos, but admittedly failed. > > The other bird that I saw that I will mention was what I would discribe as > a crow with a short tail, that was the size of a blue jay. This bird I > observed on Saturday. I was rushing home for a dinner engagement and did > not wish to be late for it. As I came to a stop in Bridgewater at the > light by the Bridgewater Tim Hortons, at the East Side Plaza, this bird > came gliding across in front of me. At first I thought it was just an > American crow, but I took a second take and realized that it was only blue > jay size. The distance was maybe ten feet in front of me when the bird > went by. It landed upon the roof of the Tim Hortons on the edge. It > appeared as very small and blue jay size at that angle as well. When it > hopped down off the edge onto the roof itself, it was so tiny that I could > no longer see it. I'm sorry that I did not have time to pull in and view > it better. I've since tried to relocate this bird, but have not been > successful. Unless I can relocate it and get photos or someone else > happens to see it we will leave it as an unknown. > > James R. Hirtle > Bridgewater > > > > -- Ronald G. Arsenault Moncton, N.B. --14dae93408cf94042104cc6b58f3 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hello James,<div><br></div><div><br></div><div>I few thoughts which came to= mind as I was reading your post:</div><div><br></div><div>1. =A0An aberran= t individual of one of the common species.</div><div>2. A domestic duck esc= aped from captivity. (There are quite a few fanciers and quite a number of = domestic breeds, including crosses between the various breeds.)</div> <div>3. A hybrid, where one should consider not only wild birds, but crosse= s between domestic and wild birds and back-crosses in subsequent generation= s.</div><div><br></div><div>And finally, although a very long shot, your de= scription reminded me of a female Fulvous Whistling Duck.<br> <br>Enjoy to challenge and hope you get to see the duck again, with better = luck with your camera!</div><div><br></div><div>Cheers!</div><div><br></div= ><div>Ron<br><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Fri, Oct 19, 2012 at 11:36 A= M, James Hirtle <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailto:jrhbirder@hotmail.c= om" target=3D"_blank">jrhbirder@hotmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br> <blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p= x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"> <div><div dir=3D"ltr"> <font size=3D"3">Thank you Paul.=A0 I ruled out a ring-necked duck as the b= ird that I saw was much lighter and the way it sat on the water and swam di= d not fit in with a ring-necked duck.=A0 It's actions and build were mo= re like that of a teal and that is