[TopOfUtah] Scaup quiz

[Ryan O'Donnell]

Following Buck's post on Saturday I went to the ponds west of the Logan
Landfill in search of Greater Scaup.  I am still struggling to identify
these in the field, but I felt like there was at least one and probably
more that were Greaters.  When I returned with a group of other birders
on Sunday morning we were unable to find any Greaters.  I took a bunch
of photos on Saturday night and I wanted to solicit opinions on the
three shots I thought looked most like Greaters (these may or may not be
the same bird).  I've based my ID primarily on the height and length of
the bill, the width of the bill, the size of the nail on the tip, the
width of the head at the "jowels", and partly on the shape of the head
in profile.  The pure white flanks was a minor corroborating point.
Here are links to the photos:
 
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/Tsirtalis/Scaup1.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/Tsirtalis/Scaup2.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/Tsirtalis/Scaup3.jpg
 
Thanks for your help,
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