Spatula querquedula
Status: Rare casual spring migrant central.
Documentation: Photograph: 4 Apr 1998 Wild Rose Ranch, Hall Co (Brogie 1999).
Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (Gill et al 2022).
Spring: There are two records, possibly of the same individual.
28 Mar 1997 alternate male 4.8 kilometers (3 miles) south of Kearney, Kearney Co (Brogie 1998)
29 Mar-5 Apr 1998 alternate male Wild Rose Ranch, Hall Co (Brogie 1999).
Comments: Additional reports considered insufficiently documented follow. One seen very briefly below the Keystone Dam, Keith Co 30 Dec 2000 was said to have the field marks of an alternate male, but this plumage is only held in spring and early summer. The report was not unaccepted by NOURC (Jorgensen 2002). A female or juvenile type was reported in Nance Co 12 Oct 2006; details were provided to NOURC but were insufficient for positive identification (Brogie 2007). Five were reported in Loup Co 30 Mar 2010, but NOURC considered the details insufficient to clinch the identification (Brogie 2011).
There are numerous records scattered across North America (eBird.org, accessed Apr 2023). Most records are of males with Blue-winged Teal in spring; mid-Mar through May (Howell et al 2014; eBird.org accessed Apr 2023). Howell et al (2014) suggested that these males are unpaired as they are not returning from their usual winter range where pairing occurs. Identification of females and immatures is difficult, however. Records for the Great Plains are indeed mostly in spring; eBird.org (accessed 8 Apr 2023) shows 14 records Mar-May and none for Aug-Nov, although one of only three Interior fall records is from Kansas 23 Oct 1988 (Thompson et al 2011, Mlodinow and O’Brien 1996). In addition, there are two Great Plains records for Jun-Jul, both in Canada (eBird.org, accessed Apr 2023).
Images
Abbreviations
NOURC: Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee
Literature Cited
Brogie, M.A. 1998. 1997 (Ninth) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 66: 147-159.
Brogie, M.A. 1999. 1998 (Tenth) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 67: 141-152.
Brogie, M.A. 2007. 2006 (18th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 75: 86-94.
Brogie, M.A. 2011. 2010 (22nd) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 79: 99-111.
Gill, F., D. Donsker, and P. Rasmussen (Eds). 2022. IOC World Bird List (v 12.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.12.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
Howell, S.N.G., I. Lewington, and W. Russell. 2014. Rare birds of North America. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
Jorgensen, J.G. 2002. 2002 (sic; =2000). (12th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 70: 84-90.
Mlodinow, S.G., and M. O’Brien. 1996. America’s 100 most wanted birds. Helena and Billings, MT: Falcon Press.
Thompson, M.C., C.A. Ely, B. Gress, C. Otte, S.T. Patti, D. Seibel, and E.A. Young. 2011. Birds of Kansas. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA.
Recommended Citation
Silcock, W.R., and J.G. Jorgensen. 2023. Garganey (Spatula querquedula). In Birds of Nebraska — Online. www.BirdsofNebraska.org
Birds of Nebraska – Online
Updated 8 Apr 2023