Lesser Scaup

My apologies for being tardy in my posting of late, but I have been busy almost every day with birdwatching, taking my opportunities in bits and pieces as it were, eager to spot something new as usual.  Lately I haven't seen anything that I haven't seen in the past several years.  Also, unfortunately, opportunities to go to new locations in search of birds,  have not yet presented themselves to me. However, my pictures are turning out to be better,  so I have decided to share pictures of the Lesser Scaup that I have recently taken.

Lesser Scaup Female

It is difficult at best to distinguish between the Lesser and Greater Scaup; a diving duck, but because of the curve in the neck of this duck, it's amber eyes, and due to the fact that they are frequenting this fresh water pond, I have concluded that this particular duck is the Lesser  Scaup, as the Greater Scaup apparently prefers salt water.

Lesser Scaup male

The Greater Scaup has yellow eyes, its neck is somewhat straighter and  it's head is larger.  The Greater Scaup is also reportedly somewhat larger than the Lesser Scaup.   This is another reason why I have decided that this pair of diving ducks must be the Lesser Scaup.  Although honestly, having never had the opportunity to compare visuals of both I could still be mistaken. Both types of scaup have a distinctive bluish colored bill, and the coloring of both the male and female of both types of scaup is almost identical.  Although the female Greater Scaup has a larger and more distinctive white patch at  the base of the bill.

Close up Lesser Scaup pair

More information about this diving duck can be found at the following links:
http://wetlandsfortomorrow.ducks.ca/lwlscaup
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Scaup
http://www.deltawaterfowl.org/research/bios/lesserscaup/index.php
http://birding.about.com/od/identifyingbirds/a/scaupidentification.htm

As usual, I hope you enjoy

Susan