Date: 3/29/25 7:42 pm From: Joseph Neal <0000078cbd583d7c-dmarc-request...> Subject: Long-tailed Duck at Centerton - yes
Today, several of us made the trip to the state fish hatchery in Centerton hoping to see the LONG-TAILED DUCK first reported on March 27 (I think). Jacque Brown had seen it yesterday. She told me which pond it was using. Jay Walko was birding when we arrived at mid-day. He’d just seen the bird and mentioned it was diving a lot and not long on the surface. We first saw it at distance across the large pond, diving frequently. It soon began to swim in our direction and with less frequent dives. It was eventually right in front of us. We wound up with great views.
I’ve seen quite a few Long-tailed Ducks in Arkansas over the years, but never better than today. Here’s our eBird submission with a few photos: https://ebird.org/checklist/S221701807. I think this is an immature male.
I never ceased to be amazed at seeing in the middle of North America a creature from the Far North, many thousands of miles away. What a fabulous reality. And after the Long-tailed Duck, we had views of a couple of American Golden-Plovers, travelers of very, very long distances, and stopped here, among us, on their way north.
