Re: Ruddy Shellduck

["D R" <frnatent at earthlink dot net>]

Bill:

It is indeed a nice and unusual sighting.  I think everyone would agree
that it is an escapee/feral duck from a public or private collection.   As
I mentioned in my earlier posting, although they have been seen in the wild
in eastern North America there has never been a vagrant sighting that has
been accepted.

Regards,

Bill Fenimore


> [Original Message]
> From: Mark Stackhouse <westwings@sisna.com>
> To: Bill Hunter <dixiewillie@skyviewmail.com>
> Cc: <birdnet@utahbirds.org>; <redcliffs@utahbirds.org>
 > Date: 1/30/05 12:45:43 PM
> Subject: Re: [birdnet] Ruddy Shellduck
>
> Nice sighting, and I would be confident that you have the i.d. correct=20=
> 
> - it's an easily recognized species. It's also a species which is very=20=
> 
> commonly kept in captivity in the US and Europe. If what Bill Fenimore=20=
> 
> says about the decline of he wild populations is true, then it may be=20
> that there are more of them in captivity than in the wild.  In
addition=20=
> 
> to Tracy Aviary, I believe Hogle Zoo may have some, and, at least a
few=20=
> 
> years ago, a number of private collections in the Salt Lake area had=20
> them as well. I don't know who in the St. George area may have some.=20
> However, even if no one close by has any, they can travel quite a=20
> distance on their own, as evidenced by the two I saw some years ago at=20=
> 
> Neponset Reservoir on Deseret Ranch - a long ways from any aviaries=20
> private or public.
> 
> In spite of the fact that Ruddy Shelducks are seen "in the wild" with=20
> some degree of regularity throughout North America, none of these=20
> sightings have been considered to be vagrants or anything other than=20
> escapees. There are no accepted records for this species on this=20
> continent. I'm sure the bird you have there is no exception.
> 
> Mark
> 
> Mark Stackhouse
> westwings@sisna.com
> 801-487-9453 (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA)
> 011-52-323-285-1243 (San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico)
> 
> On Jan 29, 2005, at 10:50 PM, Bill Hunter wrote:
> 
> > Jim... and others
> >
> > Perhaps we need to provide the pictures. We are hoping the bird will=20=
> 
> > venture closer to the viewing area so better pictures can be
obtained=20=
> 
> > before submitting them.
> >
> > My only concern was separating it from the Egyptian Goose, female.=20
> > However, the very black legs and feet, uniform body color - tan, and=20=
> 
> > dark neck ring, visible on the ventral surface, separate this bird=20
> > from the goose. Remarkable size. First thing that struck me was how=20
> > big it was. Wing and tail were dark, with just the smallest patch of=20=
> 
> > white in front of black wing.
> >
> > Bill
> >
> > On Saturday, January 29, 2005, at 08:35  PM, BirderB@aol.com wrote:
> >
> >> The Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) is a member of the duck=20
> >> family Anatidae. It is in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae.
> >>
> >> There are very small resident populations of this species in north=20
> >> west Africa and Ethiopia,=A0 but the main breeding area of this =
> species=20
> >> is from south east Europe across central Asia.=A0 These ducks=A0are=20=
> 
> >> mostly migratory, wintering in southern Asia.
> >>
> >> It is presumably this population which gives rise to vagrants as
far=20=
> 
> >> west as Iceland and=A0Great Britain. However, since the European=20
> >> population is declining, it is likely that most occurrences in=20
> >> western Europe in recent decades are escapes or feral birds.
Although=20=
> 
> >> this bird is observed in the wild from time to time in eastern
North=20=
> 
> >> America, no evidence of a genuine vagrant has been found.
> >>
> >> =A0
> >> Bill Fenimore
> >> (801) 525-8400 Store
> >> (801) 699-9330 Cellular
> >>
> Mark Stackhouse
> Westwings, Inc.
> westwings@sisna.com
> 801-487-9453 (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA)
> 011-52-323-285-1243 (San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico)
> 



--- D R
--- frnatent@earthlink.net
--- EarthLink: The #1 provider of the Real Internet.



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