Pure Grey Duck - Mangere, Auckland.

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TheBirderman
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Pure Grey Duck - Mangere, Auckland.

Postby TheBirderman » Sun Nov 25, 2018 8:41 pm

Saw a Grey Duck out at Ambury Park/Puketutu Island. I uploaded a photo of it onto my iNaturalist dashboard which you can view here (It is the one in the foreground in front of the hybrid!): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/18462408
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Liam Ballard
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Location: Mt Eden, Auckland
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Re: Pure Grey Duck - Mangere, Auckland.

Postby Liam Ballard » Mon Nov 26, 2018 6:43 am

Hey TheBirderMan,
I might suggest that you are in fact looking at two hybrids with varying degrees of purity. Certainly the front bird has a lot more Grey Duck in it than the other, and doubtless the Ambury/Mangere area is excellent for these rare birds. However due to the darker face with more obscure facial stripes I'd say this bird is a hybrid, albeit a good one. In saying that, whether any 100% pure birds exist, especially in Auckland, seems to be uncertain so it could be the best around! Here's a fantastic guide to determining hybrids: https://ebird.org/newzealand/news/grey_ducks/
Hope it helps!
Liam Ballard

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