Despite our recent mid-winter thaw, we've not seen the sun all weekend. I hiked around the park today with a friend but I carried my camera and binoculars just in case. We didn't really see much but we heard some Red-bellied and Downy or Hairy Woodpeckers. But we did run into a surprise at the "duck pond" on the southwest corner of the park. There were a LOT of Mallards present and I was explaining to my friend how it's sometimes worth a shot to scan the entire flock as there can be other species sometimes mixed in. In a matter of seconds my friend said "you mean like that one?" as he pointed to a darker colored and unusual looking duck.
At first glance I had no idea what it was. It wouldn't be out of the question to see an American Black Duck, but this didn't look like a Black Duck at all. It was slightly larger than the other Mallards and had a kind of "lankiness" to it's appearance –like it's neck stuck out further than the other ducks. I did give me the faintest reminder of the Muscovy Duck (a domestic breed) I'd found in this same exact location in October of 2014. So now I was leaning towards some type of domestic duck. As we walked around to the other path we got to see the bird from behind and I noticed some very beautiful iridescent purple feathers and a striking emerald wing patch or "speculum" as it's called.
I couldn't help but think of how similar it's plumage was to a male Wood Duck! I'd never seen anything quite like this. I figured if I got some good enough photos that I could post online later and as for help in properly identifying the bird. I believe a couple of very good birders on the
Minnesota Birding facebook page nailed it. A Mallard x Muscovy Hybrid! After viewing some additional photos of said combination, I feel pretty confident that is what this bird is. You just never know what's gonna show up in the Palmer Lake Duck Pond! We also saw a few Northern Cardinals, and a pair of Great Horned Owls that were being mobbed by Crows.
At first glance I had no idea what it was. It wouldn't be out of the question to see an American Black Duck, but this didn't look like a Black Duck at all. It was slightly larger than the other Mallards and had a kind of "lankiness" to it's appearance –like it's neck stuck out further than the other ducks. I did give me the faintest reminder of the Muscovy Duck (a domestic breed) I'd found in this same exact location in October of 2014. So now I was leaning towards some type of domestic duck. As we walked around to the other path we got to see the bird from behind and I noticed some very beautiful iridescent purple feathers and a striking emerald wing patch or "speculum" as it's called. 
I couldn't help but think of how similar it's plumage was to a male Wood Duck! I'd never seen anything quite like this. I figured if I got some good enough photos that I could post online later and as for help in properly identifying the bird. I believe a couple of very good birders on the Minnesota Birding facebook page nailed it. A Mallard x Muscovy Hybrid! After viewing some additional photos of said combination, I feel pretty confident that is what this bird is. You just never know what's gonna show up in the Palmer Lake Duck Pond! We also saw a few Northern Cardinals, and a pair of Great Horned Owls that were being mobbed by Crows.
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