Lesser Scaup at Lago San Pablo!

In February 2012 during a waterbird census of Aves y Conservación a female Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis was reported at both Laguna Yambo (prov. Cotopaxi) and Lago San Pablo (prov. Imbabura). On 3 March Juan F. Freile observed the bird at Lago San Pablo which he consequently reported on the . The Lesser Scaup is a vagrant to Ecuador with only one previously known record: a bird collected in May 1922 at the Carolina Marshes (which is now Carolina Park in downtown Quito). On 7 March we had a successful "twitch" to Lago San Pablo and photographed the Lesser Scaup. We saw the bird at the western end of the lake just on the right hand side of the dock. It was foraging together with a few Andean Ruddy-ducks Oxyura ferruginea but was only loosely associated with them. After approaching the scaup it flew for a short distance.


Dušan Brinkhuizen, Lorena Córdova, Jonas Nilsson and Charlie Vogt (photos by D. Brinkhuizen)

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Aves Ecuador by Dušan M. Brinkhuizen