Date: 11/11/24 3:21 pm From: James Pike via groups.io <jimpike444...> Subject: [OrangeCountyBirding] hybrid wigeon
An adult male Eurasian x American hybrid was within Inner Bolsa just south of Wintersburg channel today. It mostly looks Eurasian, but with a smattering of green above and behind the eyes, and a ghost pattern of American's decurved green facial patch.
I have yet to see a Red-breasted Merganser in Bolsa proper this season, but an intriguing bird has been in the channel since at least 17 Oct. Although it looks much like a female (including the orange eye color), I think it is a second-year male that likely summered in the area. It has the white, square-tipped median coverts of an 'adult' male, while the upper lesser coverts and rectrices are evidently trashed juvenile feathers and the tertials are formative feathers (some of which have broken in half). I've never seen a merganser quite like this one before.
