Date: 11/11/24 3:26 pm From: James Pike via groups.io <jimpike444...> Subject: Re: [OrangeCountyBirding] hybrid wigeon
You're fast. These are my best pics.
My condolences about the end of democracy. We had a good run.
On Mon, Nov 11, 2024 at 3:20 PM James Pike <jimpike444...> wrote:
> 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.
>
> Jim Pike
> HB
>
