floraphile Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 18 Mar 2021 Baldwin co. AL; saltwater/brackish marsh & bay 1. Are these just Mallards or something more exciting? 2. Rough-winged Swallow vs. female Purple Martin Small group feeding quite low over marsh grass; individuals looked dark in coloration from afar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floraphile Posted March 18, 2021 Author Share Posted March 18, 2021 2 hours ago, floraphile said: 18 Mar 2021 Baldwin co. AL; saltwater/brackish marsh & bay 1. Are these just Mallards or something more exciting? 2. Rough-winged Swallow vs. female Purple Martin Small group feeding quite low over marsh grass; individuals looked dark in coloration from afar. #2: I found a better picture of the dark individuals and they are definitely Tree Swallows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birding Boy Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 I’m pretty sure the ducks are Gadwall 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexHenry Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 The swallow isn't identifiable from that photo alone I'd suggest Canvasback for the ducks, but I'm not sure why I think that. Probably wrong. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birding Boy Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 39 minutes ago, AlexHenry said: The swallow isn't identifiable from that photo alone I'd suggest Canvasback for the ducks, but I'm not sure why I think that. Probably wrong. I think these birds have orange/yellow feet if you zoom in, which should eliminate Canvasback. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floraphile Posted March 18, 2021 Author Share Posted March 18, 2021 19 minutes ago, Birding Boy said: I think these birds have orange/yellow feet if you zoom in, which should eliminate Canvasback. I saw those pretty legs. 🙂 I also considered Gadwall and looked for the white patch, but couldn't find it for sure, so I went with Mallard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floraphile Posted March 18, 2021 Author Share Posted March 18, 2021 @AlexHenry @Birding Boy--Here are 2 more shots, each with a darkened version.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan B Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 These are certainly Gadwall, the first new image you posted shows the white on the secondaries, which I believe are diagnostic for the species. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Leukering Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 (edited) 22 hours ago, AlexHenry said: I'd suggest Canvasback for the ducks They also have some white remiges, also wrong for Cans. Finally, note the nearly unicolored underwings of CANV, unlike the Mallard-like wing pattern of Gadwall. Edited March 19, 2021 by Tony Leukering typo fix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanbirds Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 3 hours ago, Tony Leukering said: also wrong for Cans. I think we all know the difference between ducks and cans, @Tony Leukering (just joking) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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