Bye, bye Long-tailed Duck

Just two last pics of the Long-tailed Duck that remained on the Arkansas River near Canon City until today. The last I saw this duck was when some other diving ducks flushed and flew off. I looked for it twice this afternoon and it wasn't in the area.

I am told that this was likely a female even though it has a long tail (they do during summer breeding season and this one seems to have retained much of it's alternate plumage). These pics are from my new DSLR camera, a Canon Rebel xti with a 70-300 IS USM lens and 1.4 teleconverter--it's a lot of camera (literally as it weighs a lot more than my Panasonic Lumix). SeEtta

Need help aging and sexing the Long-tailed Duck

I received an email tonight from another SE Colo birder who has seen a number of Long-tailed Duck at the Pueblo Res and he said that he has also seen some on the Arkansas River in Pueblo Co. The tail is awfully long for a female but it doesn't have either yellow or pink on it's bill as a male should have.

So I guess it isn't so unusual that I saw this one on the river. Unfortunately he found this duck's plumage confusing. So if anyone who views this has experience with Long-tailed Duck plumage, I would appreciate your assistance on aging and sexing this duck. Maybe the ornithologist from Sala Vastmanland Sweden who regularly views my blog has some experience (I have read on Birds of North Americaonline that this species both breeds and winters offshore of Sweden).

As I wasn't aware of any sightings of Long-tailed Duck in Fremont Co, I checked the Colo Field Ornithologist website and the species was not on the species list for the county. And Brandon noted that this may be a first record for this county. SeEtta

Two more Long-tailed Duck pics

I expect a few will think I must be wrong on the identification of this duck since I note it was on the Arkansas River, an unseemly place for a seagoing diving duck that is usually found on large lakes when found inland. So I thought I would supply two more pics.

The Long-tailed Duck was in the company of a male goldeneye, both staying near each other and separate from the other waterfowl on the river. And they both were diving in a deeper section of the river.

By the way, difference in color on these pics is due to the fact the sun was going down that started casting a golden glow on the river and the duck. SeEtta

I just found a Long-tailed Duck near Canon City

Late this afternoon I found a Long-tailed Duck, a vagrant from the coasts to Colorado, near Canon City. This is an immature duck but I'm not sure what specific age it is. This is a real rarity here; and I found it on the Arkansas River which I believe is also quite unusual as these are usually found either along coastal areas or on large inland lakes. SeEtta