The solidly dark back rules out most Aythya species besides Ring-necked duck and Tufted Duck. The head shape, and the (faint, here) ring on the bill look good for Ring-Necked. It also shows the pale spur by the wing that would be bright white on an adult male.
Zach Schwartz-Weinstein 203 500 7774 On Thu, Aug 6, 2026 at 4:15 PM Joshua Malbin <[email protected]> wrote: > That is an odd duck. > > For others’ reference, I believe this is the checklist in question: > > https://ebird.org/checklist/S379383896 > > > On Thu, Aug 6, 2026 at 3:21 PM Gary Bletsch (via NYSBIRDS-L list) < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> 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 >> S379383896although 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. >> >> Thanks. >> >> Yours truly, >> >> Gary Bletsch >> Jamestown, NY >> -- >> NYSbirds-L List Info: >> Visit: http://LISTS.cornell.edu for more information >> Posting Address: [email protected] >> Archives: >> The Mail Archive: //www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] >> <https:%3Ca%20href=>/maillist.html" class="hft-urls">https: >> //www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html >> Sightings: Please submit your observations to eBird at >> http://www.ebird.org >> -- >> > -- > NYSbirds-L List Info: > Visit: http://LISTS.cornell.edu for more information > Posting Address: [email protected] > Archives: > The Mail Archive: //www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > <https:%3Ca%20href=>/maillist.html" class="hft-urls">https: > //www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html > Sightings: Please submit your observations to eBird at > http://www.ebird.org > -- > -- NYSbirds-L List Info: Visit: http://LISTS.cornell.edu for more information Posting Address: [email protected] Archives: The Mail Archive: https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html Sightings: Please submit your observations to eBird at http://www.ebird.org --
