Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

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Adam C
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Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby Adam C » Fri Jun 10, 2022 8:36 pm

Red dot below Andrew
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andrewcrossland
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Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby andrewcrossland » Fri Jun 10, 2022 8:51 pm

awesome, thanks! I think with these Northern Shovelers and Chestnut Teal folks should not resist the inclination to give the vast waterfowl flocks at Lake Ellesmere a bit of a scan through when next encountering them. Might just be a Musk Duck or a Pink-eared one sitting in the middle?!!
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Oscar Thomas
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Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby Oscar Thomas » Tue Jul 26, 2022 12:41 pm

Still present Sunday around midday.
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CMKMStephens
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Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby CMKMStephens » Tue Jul 26, 2022 6:48 pm

Hopefully sticks around as I'm back down to CHCH on Friday and heading this way.
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CMKMStephens
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Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby CMKMStephens » Mon Aug 01, 2022 12:52 am

Still there 30th and 31st. Both times in the northern pond to the one with the red dot above. Loads of Australasian Shovelers for comparison. Also, both times immediately set sail further away from the track.
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Michael Szabo
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Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby Michael Szabo » Sun Aug 07, 2022 5:44 pm

Reported present there again via Facebook by Janet Burton on Wednesday 3rd August.
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Steve Wood
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Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby Steve Wood » Mon Sep 19, 2022 9:07 pm

Still present today at the northern ponds.Starting to loose some of its luster but still quite distinctive amongst the few Australians

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Oscar Thomas
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Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby Oscar Thomas » Mon Sep 19, 2022 11:32 pm

Steve, your bird is a dead ringer for the pale Australasian/potential hybrid I saw alongside the Northern en route back from Westport in July (excuse the photo quality). Shared here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11729. Your pics make me more inclined towards it being a hybrid, or perhaps even a 2nd Northern going into eclipse plumage.
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Shoveler. Oscar Thomas_1.jpg
L to R: Northern, Australasian, hybrid? Australasian
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Steve Wood
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Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby Steve Wood » Tue Sep 20, 2022 7:01 pm

Oscar, you never mentioned why you think it is a Hybryd ? It shows all the key features of a Northern moulting into breeding plumage ?
(see below bottom photo), head colour aside as it is hard to ascertain its true colour as it is either fading fast or coming into colour.
A hybrid is certainly a consideration especially when dealing with waterfowl but should not always the default setting if not a classic example,which seems to be popular claim at the moment. e.g recent Chestnut Teal.
When you see this bird from Bromley poo ponds, it shows lightly speckled chest and a hint of facial crescent which is all acceptable (apparently) for Northern.
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Oscar Thomas
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Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby Oscar Thomas » Wed Sep 21, 2022 10:14 am

Hi Steve,
Yep I have to admit I have no idea, all I know is I saw this intermediate bird (with a lighter head, less white on the breast/flank, and a crescent on the face) that looks like a Northern Shoveler, alongside a definite Northern Shoveler (still mostly in breeding plumage). It is reminiscent to me of Russell Canning's Huntly bird from last year, which 'was not accepted by the RAC since hybridism was not possible to rule out'. Russ and Andrew Crossland go through the potential for plumage variation in more detail here: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11052&p=48576&hilit=hakanoa#p48576

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