Hello all, I was a Black Dog Lake in Dakota County this morning. I didn't see anything noteworthy, except for a single Horned Grebe in its transition molt. However, I saw two birds that I could not approach, due to the deep snow, in order to ID with my binoculars (I need a spotting scope soon). I took a long digital photo and enlarged it on on computer. I still am not sure what I am looking at.
They are smaller than Mallards, have yellowish bills with apparent markings, and appear to have dark heads with whitish faces and throats. They were the only two odd birds I saw and I don't think Black Dog Lake would be a place to see some weird farm hybrid ducks. They were swimming with a group of Canada Geese, Mallards, Hooded Mergansers, and a few American Coots. Anyway, I've driven myself mad trying to ID them and any help or ideas would be appreciated. At the moment I am leaning towards calling them some sort of hybrid. Thanks, Derek Bakken St. Paul, MN
