[Birdtalk] "Brewer's Duck" (MALL x GADW) and Wood Ducks in Cache Co.

[Ryan O'Donnell]

I took a quick afternoon birding break to Sue's Ponds in Logan and the
20-20 Ponds in Young Ward.  At Sue's Ponds I found an adult male
BREWER'S DUCK, which is a hybrid between a Mallard and a Gadwall.  This
bird looked a lot like the one photographed by Jeff Bilsky at Farmington
Bay exactly one week ago
(http://www.endlesswilderness.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=11), and
I'm guessing it's the same bird.  Unfortunately, this bird flushed after
a minute or so of observation and I could not relocate it, so I don't
have any photos.  (It was last seen flying south, if anyone wants to try
to track it down.)  Another example of a similar-looking bird is here:
http://www.charliesbirdblog.com/~charlie/mankymallards/brewersduck01.jpg
Also seen here were a pair of American Kestrels in the act of
copulating, yet another sign of spring.
 
At the 20-20 Ponds, I found four WOOD DUCKS, two males and two females,
where we could find none yesterday when we went in search of them there.
One pair of them seemed to be investigating a nest box, and then showed
some courtship behavior.  Here's a digiscoped photo of the nest box
inspection:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/Tsirtalis/IMGP9657.jpg
 
Good birding,
Ryan
 
Ryan P. O'Donnell
Department of Biology and the Ecology Center
Utah State University
5305 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-5305
 
http://200birds.blogspot.com