Green winged teal and more sightings highlights
We have had a special visitor causing a bit of a flutter this week: a drake (male) green winged teal.
It was first spotted on the Folly Pond this Wednesday (6th March) and was moving around the site the rest of the week.
Very similar to our Eurasian teal and considered a subspecies by some, this is a scarce, but annual, vagrant from North America. Most records are in autumn or winter and almost all proven ones are male.
Their name does not indicate their difference from other teal as both have green wing patches. The main feature that tells them apart is that the green winged teal has a vertical white line near the shoulder, rather than a horizontal white wing flash. You can see the difference in the photo above.
Other highlights from this last week have included ruff, water rail, gadwall and pintail.
Feature photo by Fiona Moir
