Lesser Scaup at La Chua, Louisiana Waterthrush

From: Rex Rowan <rexrowan@gmail.com>
To: Alachua County birding report

John Martin found a scaup while scanning from the La Chua observation platform on the 21st. I was fairly certain the bird was a Greater Scaup, since it looks round-headed and big-billed in John’s photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/thermalin/

However John wrote, “Most notable to me was the peak of the crown near the top of the head, and a good view I had of the white stripe along the secondaries (during some preening it did some good wing flapping) that extended to about half the length of the wing. I watched it for about 30 minutes, and almost the entire time it was dabbling with the head underwater. When it finally came to a rest and started preening I was able to see the peak of the head better.” Lesser Scaup do depress their crown feathers when they feed below the surface, and look very much like Greaters until they dry out a little bit, as John witnessed. Mike Manetz and Lloyd Davis saw the bird too, and both agreed that the head seemed to show a peak toward the rear of the crown. That fact, and the wing stripe as described by John, make for a satisfactory identification. Lesser is certainly more probable here, at any time of the year.

Today John sent me a video of the bird preening. Unfortunately it’s facing away, but you can get a sense of the head shape and bill size: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqes7mQlI9Q&feature=youtu.be

Joyce King lives in Bradford County, about three miles south of Keystone Heights. On the 21st she spotted a Louisiana Waterthrush along the creek in her back yard. This is three days earlier than Alachua County’s early record. But the best thing about it is that fall migration began on the 21st this year – which was technically still spring. (And of course if Louisiana Waterthrushes are in Keystone Heights, they could be here too!)