Does Anyone Have A Guess What This Is?

[kingmt]

I seen a duck today at a public park. It isn't native to my state as far as I know & it is even rare to see the ones that are native to this state. We have Millards but this duck was dark all over it looked black to me & a bright orange bill. It was somewhat of a good flier but not as good as the mallard. When it took off it seemed to have trouble getting off the surface of the water but it did fly over 200 yards at the least & over the trees. It didn't let me get very close to get a good look.

 

[FenDruadin]

It could be all kinds of things--even a wild mallard with a mutant gene. The "extended black" gene, as it's called, originated in the mallard and has been bred extensively into many breeds of duck. Cayugas are famous for their brilliant iridescent black sheen. But many other breeds, including Indian Runners (a funny-shaped duck), come in iridescent black. It's really hard to say without a picture. Sorry!

 

[shelleyd2008]

Did it look like this? http://www.ducks.org/hunting/waterfowlGallery/78/index.html

There's a whole list on this site http://www.ducks.org/hunting/waterfowlgallery.aspx But that's the only one that looks like you are describing.

 

[kingmt]

Quote:
I think you nailed it. I was driving past the park when I seen it & whipped in to take a closer look. I had to park the car & walk up the path to see it. When I listened to that that clip I do remember hearing something like a whistle but at the time I didn't pay any attention to it because I wasn't expecting a duck to sound like that.

I wonder what it was doing here. Wonder if it was just passing through or someone lost there pet. I thought about talking to DNR about it because I'm sure someone else has seen it since it is a public park but I probably won't.

 

[shelleyd2008]

The link I posted says they migrate to the Great Lakes regions, so it's probably the bird's winter home