Ring-Necked Duck

I saw my first ring-necked duck in San Angelo, Texas in March of last year. I'd never heard of it before and noted that it did not have much of a presence where we live in Southern California. I saw a few more in Texas at Aransas NWR in November of last year and then saw a few at a private reservoir in Mentone, near our home, in January of this year. I subsequently saw a few at the Los Angeles County Arboretum later in January, and then saw some at Lake Tamarisk, in the low desert near Desert Center, over the weekend. Then, to my surprise, I decided to take a look at a small pond we have in Redlands, not far from our home, at Ford Park. I have always associated that pond with tame mallards and mallard mixes, not wild ducks. I was blown away to see the pond full of ring-necked ducks and American wigeons, all wild ducks, closer up and in greater quantities than I've seen anywhere else.  Merlin, the eBird on-line bird identifier, note that the ring-necked duck "favors small bodies of water, such as beaver ponds and cattail marshes," which describes our small local park pond, and that it can be "found in mixed ponds with other diving ducks" which was the case here with the American wigeons. 

I share some of my ring-necked duck photos from nearby Ford Park:

The ring-necked duck has a black head that shows purplish in the right light. 

The thin reddish-purple line on the neck, just beneath the bill, is what give it the ring-necked name. However, the ring around its bill is much more prominent and it really should be called the ring-billed duck.  

The ring on the neck is much more prominent here. 

It is a diving duck and I had a ring-side seat to watch them. 

Again, the ring around the neck is quite prominent here. 

The female is quite beautiful and much more recognizable than the females of many other species of duck by the ring around the bill. 

Greater and Lesser Scaup

The greater scaup and lesser scaup are ducks that can be very difficult to differentiate. 

The Merlin Bird ID app describes the greater scaup as having, a rounded head (or another source says a peak at the front of the head), puffier cheeks; males a black breast, medium gray back, a more extensive white stripe on the wings in flight, white sides, yellow eyes and a larger, broader bill. The head appears black with a greenish sheen in good lighting, but never purplish. Other sources say the male has a larger black nail on the tip of the bill and is larger in size (thus greater). Females are brown overall, grayer on the body in winter, with a white patch at the base of the bill and a yellow eye. They prefer saltwater bays and coves. 

The lesser scaup has a tall peak (peak-headed) near the rear of the crown (instead of the front of the head), less puffy cheeks, the black head can have a purplish or greenish sheen (another source said head color is not a great indicator because lighting impacts it so much), the white sides are often slightly dusty looking, a less extensive white stripe on the wing in flight and a smaller, narrower, bill and other sources say a narrower, taller head. They prefer fresh water and are more often found more inland.  

I was relying on the green (greater) vs. purple (lesser) head distinction and then was thrown for a loop when I identified a green head scaup as greater and several identifiers came back and said it was lesser. Then I found that lessers can also have green on the head. So it appears that the best indicator is the shape of the head, or purple sheen if you can see that. 

Now that I've outlined some of the identifiers, I'll show some photos:

Greater scaup at Bolsa Chica. More rounded head and peak near front of head. The lighting almost gives it a purplish look which would indicate lesser, but I believe it is the early morning light. 

Greater scaup at Bolsa Chica. Peak is toward front of the crown and the nail on the front of the bill is large. 

Greater Scaup at Salton Sea SRA. Peak at front of crown and real greenish head, although I now realize that should carry less weight. 

Greater Scaups at Salton Sea SRA. Peak at front of crown. 

I didn't run this one through iNaturalist and struggle with this one. I think it is a greater scaup because the peak appears at the front of the crown and the side appears very white. But it almost appears it is purplish on the head, but it is probably the early morning light creating it. 

I put greater and one reviewer put lesser on iNaturalist. The head looks pretty round and green, but the sides are not clean white and there is not much of a bullet on the end of the bill. I'm unsure. 

This and the next two photos are of the same lesser scaup. Note the peak at the back of the crown.  

A purple sheen is evident in this photo. 

The bullet on the end of the bill is small. 

Lesser scaup at Bolsa Chica. Purplish shows through, the side is dusky white, not much of a bullet on the bill, but the crown looks quite high at the front of the crown. 

I said greater and reviewers on iNaturalist said lesser on this one. It looks like it has a green sheen, which I now know is not definitive, not much of a bullet on the end of the bill, and the peak of the crown appears at the back, particularly on the one behind. 

I said greater, reviewers on iNaturalist said lesser. I guess the peak looks like it is at the back of the crown, but the side looks quite light, but not much of a bullet on the bill. 

This one has a nice purple sheen, no question it is a lesser. But look how white the side is. No bullet evident on the bill. 

Lessers at Bolsa Chica. Peak appears to be at the back of the crown, some purplish, but that may just be early morning light. 

I initially put greater and reviewers came back lesser. It does have a dusky white side, not much of a bullet on the bill and the peak does appear at the back of the crown. 

These are lesser scaups at Aransas NWR. I believe the next photo is of the same birds. Here the heads almost look purple, and the peak looks like it is at the back of the crown. 

But in different light, the heads now look green. 

This lesser scaup at Salton Sea SRA has a nice purplish sheen. 

As I go through these I realize how difficult I find it to differentiate unless they have a great purplish head. 

Pied-Billed Grebe

I did a post on the pied-billed grebe in 2014 after seeing some in Florida. For some reason I've found it hard to get good photos of them. However, since getting my new camera and lens, I've done much better. 

Non-breeding phase at Bolsa Chica.

Non-breeding phase at Aransas NWR. 

One thing I noticed on a photo I took in poor light near the Salton Sea is that, when breeding, it has a black throat as well as a black band which encircles its beak. The black band does not stand out in normal light. Another interesting aspect, which I've only seen in photos, is that they do not have webbed feet: its toes have lobes that come out of the side of each toe, which makes paddling easier. They can also adjust their buoyancy to float with just the head above the water. 

Note the black throat as well as it floating partially submerged. 

Breeding phase at the LA Count Arboretum. 

Breeding phase at Concho River Walk in San Angelo, Texas. 

Breeding phase at Bolsa Chica. 

Black Brant

The brant is a small goose with three subspecies: (a) the dark-bellied brant; (b) the pale-bellied brant (also known as the Atlantic brant in the U.S. and the light-bellied brent goose in Europe); and (c) the black brant (also known as the Pacific brant). The dark-bellied brant breeds in central and western Siberia and winters in southern England, northern Germany and northwestern France. The pale-bellied brant breeds in northeastern Canada and winters along the Atlantic coast from Maine to Georgia. The black brant breeds in northwestern Canada, Alaska and eastern Siberia and winters on the west coast of North America from southern Alaska to California, but some also in Japan, Korea and China. 

The black brant, which I've seen twice at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach, has a dark sooty-brown back and underparts (the dark stretching further underneath than the other two subspecies), a large white flank patch, the largest white neck-patch of the three, almost forming a complete collar, a short black bill, black eyes, black legs and feet, and white underneath the tail.

When I first saw them in early morning light I had no idea what they were and had to ask a person standing nearby what they were. I believe they are fairly uncommon in Southern California.