Something New

I knew when I spotted this duck that I was seeing something completely new to me.  The white crescent on the head gave it away.  But what could it be?

I'm not an expert on ducks, so it wasn't until a pair of them flew away that I had any idea.  As they lifted off, a flash of color that had been concealed under their folded wings let me know.  Blue-winged teal!

I'd never seen these before in the wild, but all that pouring over field guides kicked in and I just knew that's what they were.

This photo (below) shows more of their green color.

Teal are some of the earliest ducks to migrate north in the spring, and to fly south in the fall.  They feed by dabbling in shallow water.  They are small and noisy, and of course, beautifully colored.

The word teal traces back to a Middle Dutch word - "teling", and a Middle Low German word - "telink".  The diminutive suffixes on each of these variations reflects the very small size of this particular duck.