Gary, your bird is a good match for the definitive alternate male Ring-necked Duck in Waterfowl of North America by Reeber (2015).
Good birding!
Willie D’Anna
Wilson, NY, Niagara County
From: Gary Bletsch (via NYSBIRDS-L list) <NYSBIRDS-L...>
Sent: Thursday, August 6, 2026 3:20 PM
To: <nysbirds-l...>
Subject: [nysbirds-l] confusing Aythya duck
Dear NY Birders,
There was an odd Aythya duck at Dunkirk Harbor recently. That is in Chautauqua County, NY. There had been a pair of Redheads there on the 21st and 24th of July; each time, a drake Ring-necked Duck was with them, making for an odd little out-of-season band of Aythya ducks.
On the 2nd August at 1435, I birded there again. This time, there were only two Aythyas. A drake Redhead was in the company of a duck that had me puzzled; it did not look like the RNDU that I'd seen on the two previous visits. I took photos and put them on my eBird checklist, initially attempting to put the odd bird down as a Redhead.
During the photo-uploading process, the Merlin application insisted that the odd duck was a Ring-necked Duck. Looking at the photos, I cannot say that it was a RNDU; the shape of the head seems wrong. Nor does the bird look right for a REDH. Granted, I have never lived anywhere where I have been able to see many Aythyas this time of year, so I don't have much experience with them in eclipse or juvenile plumages.
The bird does have a suggestion of what RT Peterson described as "a vertical white mark before the wing," albeit not very pronounced.
The hotspot is called Dunkirk Harbor; my checklist is number
hecklist S379383896
although I know that sometimes that does not help people trying to find a checklist on eBird!
Anyway, I'd love to hear any opinions as to this bird's identity.
