shouldn't be here - at least, not in the Winter. She should be down in the southern states.
At first I thought she was wounded as she would just hop out of the water (at the sewer lagoons*) when I drove by. However, one day she rose up with the Mallards. Who knows why a few birds miss the last migration bus leaving late Fall, but there are always a few, especially around areas which have year-round open water (such as here).
This little duck - and Green-winged Teals (Anas crecca) are tiny at 14" in length, wing-span 23" - was easily spotted among the mammoth Mallards (length 23", wing-span 35").
Of course, the bright green wing patch (speculum) made for a quick identification.
* Sewer lagoons are great places to look for birds, especially shorebirds during migrations. No, not the nicest smelling places at times, but hey, it is our own waste by-products, after all.
More info on Green-winged Teals at
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/green-winged_teal/id/ac
At first I thought she was wounded as she would just hop out of the water (at the sewer lagoons*) when I drove by. However, one day she rose up with the Mallards. Who knows why a few birds miss the last migration bus leaving late Fall, but there are always a few, especially around areas which have year-round open water (such as here).
This little duck - and Green-winged Teals (Anas crecca) are tiny at 14" in length, wing-span 23" - was easily spotted among the mammoth Mallards (length 23", wing-span 35").
Of course, the bright green wing patch (speculum) made for a quick identification.
Green-winged Teals prefer shallow ponds and mudflats so it isn't surprising this one would be at the lagoons.
* Sewer lagoons are great places to look for birds, especially shorebirds during migrations. No, not the nicest smelling places at times, but hey, it is our own waste by-products, after all.
More info on Green-winged Teals at
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/green-winged_teal/id/ac
