Anas discors

Here is a beautiful duck that I have hardly ever seen, this being only my second sighting in California. This is a pair of Blue-Winged Teal, the dabbling ducks with crescent moon cheeks. You'll have to forgive my rudimentary processing skills--this is one male/female pair in a time-lapsed synchronized dabble. I thought about just presenting you with their two lovely duck butts, but then I'd be depriving you of their striking faces.

Blue-Winged Teal breed throughout much of the U.S., but primarily overwinter in California. The Arcata Marsh--where I found these two this morning--sees only a few each year, mostly during migration. The marsh was actually teeming with unusual visitors this morning. We found several species that I've never seen there before, including:

Spotted Sandpiper
Red-Breasted Nuthatch
Western Kingbird
Warbling Vireo
Yellow-Breasted Chat and Black-Headed Grosbeak (both very unusual!)
Wilson's Warbler
Common Goldeneye
....and the aforementioned Moon Ducks.

This is some kind of crazy Twilight Zone bird madness! Migration is the best.

Yesterday's: Black-Crowned Night Heron.