FL Scaup

[TJ2]

pinellas county

freshwater 

leaning to all being LESC (fresh water and heads not quite round enough for GRSC)

i did pick up a greenish sheen on the male which made me question 

 

[Snake Fingers]

Greater. Note head shape and green sheen. 

Edited January 12 by Snake Fingers
I could be wrong though.

[Aidan B]

Mostly Lesser Scaups, the male is unidentifiable. Head sheen in scaup is notoriously unhelpful in IDing them, I've seen Lesser with a greenish sheen and Greater with a purplish sheen. 

[IKLland]

55 minutes ago, Aidan B said:

Head sheen in scaup is notoriously unhelpful in IDing them, I've seen Lesser with a greenish sheen and Greater with a purplish sheen. 

This is very, very true. Way too many people(including me when I first started out), considered the color of the head sheen to be one of the biggest ID factors in Scaup…it’s actually not helpful at all unless you have both species side by side in the most ideal and same lighting conditions possible.

[Birds are cool]

4 minutes ago, IKLland said:

This is very, very true. Way too many people(including me when I first started out), considered the color of the head sheen to be one of the biggest ID factors in Scaup…it’s actually not helpful at all unless you have both species side by side in the most ideal and same lighting conditions possible.

I was lucky to be taught this before I IDd my first Scaup.

[Quiscalus quiscula]

Head sheen can be quite useful in scaup ID and should not be totally disregarded, although it should never be used as the sole factor in an identification. Percentage wise, it is still more likely than not that a scaup with purple head sheen is a Lesser, and with green sheen a Greater.

[Snake Fingers]

1 hour ago, Snake Fingers said:

Greater. Note head shape and green sheen. 

To clarify I was talking about the male.

1 hour ago, Aidan B said:

the male is unidentifiable.

Head shape seems pretty round to me.

[Avery]

1 hour ago, Quiscalus quiscula said:

Head sheen can be quite useful in scaup ID and should not be totally disregarded, although it should never be used as the sole factor in an identification. Percentage wise, it is still more likely than not that a scaup with purple head sheen is a Lesser, and with green sheen a Greater.

Agreed. It's one of those marks that can't be used to solely ID a bird, but is a fairly reliable indicator given the right conditions. On a sunny day, where all the birds are looking the same direction and are resting, it's fairly reliable. On a windy, overcast day where all the birds are diving? Pretty much useless. 

[Avery]

All the birds are LESC except for the male with it's head tucked, which is a GRSC

[Snake Fingers]

9 hours ago, Avery said:

All the birds are LESC except for the male with it's head tucked, which is a GRSC

Agreed.

[Charlie Spencer]

12 hours ago, Avery said:

All the birds are LESC except for the male with it's head tucked, which is a GRSC

Okay, how did you make that call?

Thanks!

[Avery]

1 hour ago, Charlie Spencer said:

Okay, how did you make that call?

Thanks!

I’m guessing your talking about the GRSC?

The head lacks a strong peak, instead being largely rounded and tallest above the eye. The eye is also farther up in the head than a LESC.

[sbruenjes]

Is that a redhead behind the scaup in the last picture?

[IKLland]

11 minutes ago, sbruenjes said:

Is that a redhead behind the scaup in the last picture?

Yes.