Whenever I get an ABA Rarity pops up, there's an itch that comes across every birder. Can I fly to <wherever> to get <rarebird>? Do I have the time/resources/ability? I was lucky that when I planned to return to Connecticut for the COA Annual Meetings (www.ctbirding.org) I hoped that a Tufted Duck that showed up in Bridgeport would stick around. Happily, it did!
For me, the Tufted Duck was a life bird and one that while very common in the UK and other parts of the world, is not very common in the US. Every year a few manage to show up across the Northeast and the Canadian Maritimes. One had not been in CT for about 15 years so add this bird to my CT List was a great addition. Finding rarities like this would not be possible without dedicate birders, ebird, and more dedicated birders who work at checking in on the bird and reporting its presence or not. I know that I have to get better about reporting success and failures beyond ebird (www.ebird.org)
A Female Tufted Duck
Info on the Tufted Duck
Wild Bird Wednesday - Link here
