Cinnamon x Blue-winged Teal Hybrid Duck, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, UtahBlue-winged x Cinnamon Teal hybrid –  D200, f6.3, 1/500, ISO 400, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light

In late May, 2010 while photographing at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I took images of this duck, but I wasn’t aware at the time that I was photographing a hybrid. I was focused on the moment, the light was great, the duck was active & displaying and the setting was wonderful.

It wasn’t until I pulled the image up on my monitor that I saw that this duck was a hybrid, which turned out to be Cinnamon x Blue-winged Teal hybrid.  I searched the internet looking for other images of this hybrid cross and came up empty handed.

I know that birders can not count hybrids on their lists, but as an bird photographer I was thrilled to get this image and the others I took of this unusual duck.

Mia

I made a change on the ID of this duck April 14, 2015 thanks to Michael Retter!