From yesterday and today at Santee Lakes, CA. Great place to see and photograph Acorn Woodpeckers which are declining in California.
I also found a Brewer's Duck . Anybody knows if this duck is rare or is it common? It is a mallard x gadwall hybrid. This hybrid was illustrated and described by Audubon. Audubon wrote: "The beautiful Duck from which I made the drawing copied on the plate before you, was shot on Lake Barataria, in Louisiana, in February 1822. It was in company with seven or eight Canvass-back Ducks. No other individuals of the species were in sight at the time, and all my efforts to procure another have been ineffectual. "
The fact that Audubon could not find another makes me think that it is a rare occurrence.
It was a workout to take these pictures since I was hand holding. The "tree" is actually an electricity pole and there was a fence in between me and the pole so I had to lift the lens high above the fence. The birds, there were two, seem to prefer the shadow and only in a few occasions they went around into good light. I exposed for the highlights and watched the red channel histogram because of the bird's red crown.
I still don't know anything about the brewer's duck. I reported it to the local birding group but I have not received any feedback. Not sure if this hybrid is a rare bird or somewhat common in nature.
