Possible Mexican Duck, Durango (La Plata County)

[Richard Trinkner]

Hi folks,

I found what I believe to be a female Mexican Duck in the small pond parallel to the paved bike path at the Huck Finn island fish hatchery area in central Durango this evening, 6/13.  The duck was swimming and feeding slowing in the pond without obvious companions -- no drake, no chicks. 

The bird had an olive/dark bill with orange edging, tan/apricot throat patch, a slight black gape patch, little-to-no white in the tail, no curl to its tail feathers, and a very thin trailing white edge to the speculum. It's very similar to the female Mexican Duck recently seen in Boulder county in the Louisville area.

I'm hardly an expert in Mexican Ducks, and this is only the second one I've attempted to identify. One field mark that gives me pause is the bill, which seems to trend closer to orange than to olive (yet Sibley indicates that Mexicans can have orange bills), and the darker hue at the center of the bill is closer to Mallard. Perhaps this bird is a hybrid, or a mostly-Mexican with some Mallard genes? I'd welcome corrections.

Photos at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S57353776.

Cheers,

Richard Trinkner

Usually of Boulder County