These ducks have been around the pond since last spring and I keep going back and forth on it. I have some photos and have a few of the "experts" take a look, too.
General concesus is that they are some sort of hybrid. Thus, I've not reported them on Ebird.
Smallish sized, all darker in color than the resident mallards. Just not quite fitting the look of a "true" ABDU.
Thanks Tyler!I get it and appreciate the clarification.
Tom BehnfieldLakewood, CO--On Friday, October 16, 2026 at 12:02:25 PM UTC-6 Tyler Stewart wrote:
All of these sightings will be getting moved to the "Exotic Escapee" status in the very near future. These birds were determined to not be of natural origins based on existing range and occurrence data, number of individuals present here, and the fact that they are occurring in a pond known to house exotics/farm ducks. I'm not aware of where they came from, but it would take a large amount of evidence to prove they are wild just based on the above. That's why they are being transitioned over to "Exotic Escapee"
Tyler StewartColorado SpringsEl Paso County
Greetings all,
I and others have recently reported American Black Ducks at the Monument Library Pond. I don't profess to know about categories that include "Exotic Escapee" and I'm curios why this occurrence seems to be the only one out of a good number of other previous reports in Colorado that are not flagged as Exotic Escapee. They have recently appeared in "Species Map," where they did not occur as recently as a week ago. I did not expect that that would be so based upon my reading on the various categories.
Is someone aware of who released them or what farm they escaped from? Once again, I don't claim to know, and I'm not a reviewer, I'm just curious.
Thanks to all of those who contribute to this forum as well as the Colorado birding community in general.
Tom BehnfieldLakewood, CO
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