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After getting a late start, I arrived at Chincoteague just in time to watch a gaggle of at least a thousand Snow Geese take off from the freshwater marshes and fly to the south. By that time, the  ducks had congregated in the center of the impoundment pools. But the rafts of ducks were large, Green-Winged Teals by the hundreds, interspersed with American Black Ducks, Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, Tundra Swans and Northern Pintails.

11 29 13 chincoteague 019  Green-Winged Teals forage in the shallows.

11 29 13 chincoteague 020 Black Ducks in the foreground, Tundra Swans in the back.

In the next pool, four or five different rafts of 30-70 ducks were new to me. Even at 100 yards or more away, their black rear end bordered in white and greyish-green head with a whitish forehead stuck out. A quick look in Peterson’s Field Guide revealed them as American Wigeons.

11 29 13 chincoteague 047 American Wigeons forage in front of several Tundra Swans.

A careful scan of the American Wigeons revealed two or three odd ducks. From the neck down, they looked like the other Wigeons. But their heads were a deep chestnut red, with a yellowish forehead. Peterson’s showed them to be Eurasian Wigeons, but also said that the Eurasian Wigeon was rare in the eastern United States. The field guide explained that the Eurasian Wigeon breeds in Siberia and Iceland, and that small numbers of vagrant birds are seen in North America, particularly on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Given it’s rarity, I was reluctant to claim it’s I.D. without confirmation. So I found a kind gentleman with a good scope and a bird I.D. app on his cell phone, and together, we did indeed I.D. these few ducks as Eurasian Wigeons.

11 29 13 chincoteague 050 A lone Eurasian Wigeon swims in the distance (click the photo to enlarge, then click on the duck one more time to see the distinguishing characteristics, even if fuzzy).