Saturday, 20 April 2013

[cobirds] Mexican Mallard (well, almost) @ Chatfield State Park, Douglas Co

Folks- my Dad Jim & I had an excellent outing to Chatfield today.  We began S. of the park, enjoying the good-sized Long-billed Curlew flock (31 at my best count) previously posted from yesterday and today.  A Peregrine Falcon added variety to the show there, as did the big spring cattle roundup taking place on the ranch hosting the curlews.

In the state park, we enjoyed the extremely vociferous Eastern Phoebe singing from treetops in the vicinity of its bridge over Plum Creek.  At the bridge itself were two brown ducks- a female Mallard and a male Mexican Mallard intergrade.  While it looked mostly OK for Mexican Mallard it had a distinct curlicue on the tail, like the intergrade shown in the Sibley Guide.  A few pics of the interesting duck can be viewed here:

I also have a movie of 25 or so of the Long-billed Curlews here:

Enjoy- Bill Schmoker, Longmont
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           • Bill Schmoker •
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