Green-winged Teal at Carsington |
On Sunday 1st November I went up to Carsington to look for the Ring-billed Gull that had been seen in the roost the previous night. On arrival at Sheepwash car park I met Mark Pass who told me about a Garganey down at the Wildlife Centre so I went down there for a quick look and hoping to perhaps get a photograph or two. I soon located it asleep on Horseshoe Island with quite a large group of Teal. As it was asleep I went through all the other ducks present that I could see just in case there was anything unusual around, which included checking all the Teal that I could for Green-winged. There appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary so after a while I decided to leave. The Garganey was still asleep but I decided to take a couple of shots of it anyway, so I went outside to take photos through the slots in the screen near the door of the hide. Just as I started taking photos there was a bit of a commotion and about 20 Teal and a few other ducks flew in and landed somewhere in front of the hide, just out of sight from where I was. I was just considering going back into the hide to check them, when the Garganey and the Teal flock on the Island suddenly spooked and flew onto the water. I quickly got the scope on the Garganey and followed it on the camera screen taking photos. It was quite easy to follow as it was the most mobile bird there rapidly weaving in and out of the Teal, many which were bathing and wing-flapping. After I had taken about half a dozen or more shots I left, feeling quite happy that it was mission accomplished and headed back to Sheepwash to look for the Ring-billed Gull which I later managed to see from Lane End Hide thanks to a text from Mark.
I had to go out that evening and did not upload my photos onto the computer until late the following evening. I then deleted a few and cropped a few and then had a closer look to see if any were worth saving. This was when I suddenly noticed the bird just in front of the Garganey. My first reaction was that I could not believe it and surely it must be some photographic or lighting anomaly. Although it appeared to be a Green-winged Teal, I thought it did not look quite right. The vertical white stripe appeared a bit too long, but if it was some anomaly it would surely be amazing that it appears in exactly the right place on the flanks. Also the breast did not seem to be any warmer toned than the other Teal in the photos, though I have noticed previously that this is a very variable feature on both species and have often seen Teal with warmer breast colouration than the accompanying Green-winged. That night I sent a text to Mark and an E-mail and photo to Martin Roome to inform them of a probable Green-winged Teal as I knew they would both be keen to check it out as they were both doing a Derbyshire year list. I also sent a photo to Dave Newcombe who regularly visits Carsington but did not have any contact details for anyone else since I lost my list when my last computer died. It was getting late so I went to bed, still feeling a little perplexed by the photos I had taken.
The following evening, after having a bit more time to study the photos the penny finally dropped and I now could see why it appeared unusual. The bottom of the vertical stripe is clearly visible, whereas on a normal swimming bird this would be submerged under the water and I now realised that its body was twisted and contorted as it was obviously one of the birds that had been bathing (which probably also helps explain how I missed it) and this was the reason the stripe appeared unusual and also perhaps explains why I thought I could make out a hint of the stripe on the other side of the body. The position of the junction of the flanks and wings also gives a further clue.
Several other features are consistent with Green-winged Teal :- the head pattern with the narrow buff edge to the green blaze confined to the area below and in front of the eye is exactly as would be expected (though some of the Teal in the photos show a very similar pattern as they often seem to).
On the second photo I believe the bird leaving the frame to the left is the same bird based on the tertial pattern (slightly paler edges than the other Teal present). and the vent pattern. I have noted a difference in the vent area on all previous Green-winged that I have seen. There obviously will be some variation in both species but on all the ones I have seen the creamy yellow patch has appeared shorter in length but deeper or more scooped out usually with a convex lower edge making the black area leading up towards the undertail much narrower than in Teal on which the lower edge is usually straighter or slightly “S” shaped. Also the black border to this patch is usually of more uniform width on Green-winged, whereas on Teal it usually becomes narrower or even broken in the lower corner. I usually find these features difficult to judge on photos as different angles can give a different impression and they seem clearer in the field, but the photo below seems to show the pattern of this bird very well and it looks spot on for Green-winged and I don’t think I have ever seen a Teal showing quite the same pattern. This photo also gives the typical dumpy impression of Green-winged with the higher and less tapering rear end, giving the body an overall squarer appearance, another feature that I have noted on previous birds.
So in summary, and rather annoyingly I competely missed this bird at the time and it makes you wonder how many other birds slip through unnoticed. It has been looked for but has not been seen since, though it is still possible that it is in the area and is worth looking out for if visiting Carsington. There were several other observers who I don't know in the hide at the time some of whom were specifically looking for the Garganey as well as some of the regular RSPB volunteers and none of them appear to have noticed this bird and I would be most interested in finding out if anyone took any photos from inside the hide, and I would also welcome any comments on the above.