This past Saturday during the walk onto the dikes at Knox-Marsellus Marsh at Montezuma NWR I picked out a wigeon in non-breeding plumage whose ruddy sides, breast, and head indicated it to be a Eurasian Wigeon. One detail which made it differ from depictions and my previous sightings was that instead of the entire head being uniform in color, the top third of its head was a slightly darker brown.
Many people have since reported this bird. On Tuesday Dave Kennedy noted that in certain lighting conditions there appears to be a green streak behind its eye. Dave takes great photos, and you can see this in his eBird report which is referenced below. It will be interesting to see whether this bird shows more signs of hybridization as it molts into breeding plumage, which should happen during the next few weeks. My Sibley Guide says wigeons have non-breeding plumage in September, but breeding plumage starting in October. If you see a Eurasian Wigeon in the Montezuma area during the next month or so, please include photos with your eBird report. Photos can be useful even if they are not beautiful, so I encourage everyone to make it a habit to include photos, if possible, with any eBird report of a rarity, and also to include a written description as a rule with any rarity - you may observe features which other people miss. - - Dave Nutter Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope) (1) - Reported Aug 31, 2021 07:45 by David Kennedy - Montezuma NWR--Towpath Rd., Seneca, New York - Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=43.0038224,-76.7457005&ll=43.0038224,-76.7457005 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S93986765 - Media: 5 Photos - Comments: "continuing.......faint green streak above eye in right light" -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
