Egyptian Goose and tufted duck
Tue, 12 Dec 2000 00:21:34 -0800
From: Judy
Many thanks to Allison who sent the link to photo of the Egyptian goose at Lake Merritt, Oakland, Alameda County. There's the pink bill and pink feet I saw but I still didn't know for sure that it was a goose (it was too pretty for a goose! and I thought it was a Eurasian Widgeon) And just wanted to mention that that tufted duck has been there at least 3 years because I've been occasionally feeding that group cracked corn. The group has dwindled since my favorite Chinese duck was mangled by some teenagers and died. They were always together, those two ducks.
Editor's Note: This "tufted duck" she mentions probably is a crested duck (see later message).
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Re: Egyptian Goose and tufted duck
Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 08:42:47 PST
From: Mark Rauzon
I have seen and photographed at least one Egyptian Goose at Lake Merritt for many years. You reminded me of a sweet story told to me by Stephanie Benavidez the naturalist.
Hector and Helen were American White Pelicans that graced the lake for 29 years. Some years before Hector died, a lone Mute Swan showed up and hung out with the other large white birds, but it came and went. After Hector died, the swan, now named Lancelot, moved in and became a permanent escort for Helen until she died last winter at 29. On the day of her burial on the islet, Lancelot was observed flying for the first time in years out to the burial site, then disappeared forever from the lake. Some months ago a swan was reported from the lake as an immature Tundra Swan, but Lancelot is gone.
Mark Rauzon
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Tufted Duck vs crested duck
Tue, 12 Dec 2000 09:54:46 -0800
From: Larry Tunstall
In the discussions about Lake Merritt waterfowl, there seems to be some confusion about "tufted ducks."
The Tufted Duck is a wild Eurasian species closely related to our Ring-necked Duck. It has a "tuft" that is similar to a pony-tail hanging down the back of the head. It is illustrated in most field guides, and a number of them are reported around the Bay Area each winter.
The crested duck is a domestic breed derived from the Mallard, with a fluffy puff on feathers on top of its head. There is a picture of one variety at
For years, some crested ducks have been part of a small flock of domestic ducks hanging around just east of the beach at Lake Merritt. Recently, I have seen one (with a rather small crest, probably pecked away by the other ducks) around the duck ponds.
As Mark said, a lone Egyptian Goose has been around the duck ponds for years, but this is the first time I have heard of two of them. Lake Merritt is a dropping ground for pets people no longer want for one reason or another. Because most domestic ducks (other than the Muscovy) are derived from Mallards, they interbreed freely with each other and with the Mallards. (In fact, most ducks and geese are quite nondiscriminatory about choosing mating partners.) Thus, hybrids of all kinds abound in these artificial park situations, where proximity and boredom overwhelm the normal mating rituals that keep species and subspecies separated.
In the past, domestic ducks and geese were periodically rounded up (often given to some public institution for a special meal) to try to preserve the refuge populations of wild waterfowl. These days such roundups are carried out less often, and the birds go to someplace with an empty pond and a desire for exotic ducks.
In his book about his Lake Merritt experiences (People Are for the Birds), Paul Covel tells about the "duck dinner scandal" in 1943, when a load of ducks from the lake were used to provide a fancy dinner for city officials. (Covel's book is out of print, but it's not too hard to find in local used-book stores. The subtitle is "The Adventures and Observations of the West's First Municipal Park Naturalist at America's First Waterfowl Refuge.")
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
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Eurasian Wigeon at McNabney Marsh
Tue, 12 Dec 2000 13:04:32 -0800
From: Nat Weber
I stopped by McNabney Marsh (formerly Shell Marsh, east of Martinez) today and, with Michael George Brown, saw the Eurasian Wigeon. We believe that the female with him was Eurasian also. They stayed pretty close together wherever they went. She had a darker and more rufous head than the other female wigeon. They were about 100 yards out of the Christmas Bird Count Circle by my estimation.
Nat Weber
Tufted Duck at Lake Merritt, Oakland
Tue, 12 Dec 2000 15:50:40 -0800
From: Mike Ezekiel
Also to be clear about ducks - the Tufted Duck which I saw at Lake Merritt last Friday was of the rare Asian (and definitely not crested duck) variety. I assume it was the same as was reported here earlier. As it was a female, it had a very small, but noticeable, rat-tail tuft of brown feathers. I did not see it again Monday morning, but nearly all of the scaups had their heads well tucked in and not visible. Lazy ducks.
Mike Ezekiel
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