Hello, everybody.
I saw an adult male Mexican duck earlier today, Monday, Apr. 24, at Hecla Lake, eastern Boulder County. Other birds, the past few days, Apr. 22-24, at the Waneka Lake–Greenlee Preserve–Thomas Open Space–Hecla Lake ecological complex have included: wood ducks, hooded merganser, nest-building Swainson's hawks, solitary sandpiper, nesting bushtits, blue-gray gnatcatcher, red-breasted nuthatch, Audubon's and myrtle warblers and hybrids, Gambel's white-crowned sparrows on the move, a meadowlark singing rather like an eastern meadowlark (but I didn't see it), and great-tailed grackle.
Pix of the Mexican duck:
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n71Xek_-neU/WP62Lol9-dI/AAAAAAAAWIw/MIoKnRjwidAwM4B9-vYO6HAG-wJ4lGhGgCLcB/s320/MEDU%2B01.png)
Note the "female Mallard" plumage overall, but with a "male Mallard" bill. The rectrices (flight feathers of the tail) are relatively dark, and there is no evidence of curled tail feathers.
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kKkm8_l0OOQ/WP62Qe7zoCI/AAAAAAAAWI0/70BJHs0TgyEwTjHbgiAMP-Tr5OzhUI3BQCLcB/s320/MEDU%2B02.png)
Don't laugh. This is a great angle for ruling out Mallard characters. A male Mallard in this pose would show sharply contrasting black and white on the tail.
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tQCag_vD4N4/WP62VM9GWzI/AAAAAAAAWI4/YQIk3MxntWwKK2Qm3tX_rqnvICOpUUSJgCLcB/s320/MEDU%2B03.png)
Nothing beats seeing the birds together. On the female Mallard (front), note that the white rectrices contrast well with the rest of the body; the effect is more muted on the male Mexican Duck (rear).
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5UvaVG-5YiA/WP62mXllncI/AAAAAAAAWJA/CXD8Hm-F66Ah68vj73M20UKExJrUliapwCLcB/s320/MEDU%2B04.png)
The whole gang. Mexican Duck at front right; female Mallard, front left; male Mallards, rear, butts sticking up.
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QMjipfkmdHQ/WP62sCg7X_I/AAAAAAAAWJE/uncuRAXowNcANOfocc4cgXSDCSUIqbTgQCLcB/s320/MEDU%2B05.png)
To sum up: "Female Mallard" plumage, but "male Mallard" bill; rectrices (tail feathers) contrasting weakly with rest of body; and no curled tail feathers.
Ted Floyd
Lafayette, Boulder County