One out of Two at Crook of Baldoon

I've got plenty of nice images of American Wigeon on file - I happen to have got lucky with this species on two or three occasions (Inverness, Caerlaverock...). But its subtle plumage, and the ID challenge it presents when hidden amongst its commoner cousins always entice me into the field. The weather was not great for the weekend in question; indeed, the one window of opportunity was the Sunday morning - just before the next storm. I wasn't too late getting up and still had time to get to what was a new site for me, just south of Wigtown, between Newton Stewart and Stranraer. So, I set off. Turning off the road running south from Wigtown (at the Pinkins signpost?), I found the reserve without any difficulty. The car-park was practically empty and the main pool within spitting distance. There was a small, makeshift hide here too, which was empty and I had uninterrupted views of the water in front of me. I picked out Scaup (an immature male), and there were certainly plenty of Eurasian Wigeon and Common Teal, plus a handful of Common Snipe, Goldeneye, Pintail, Little Egret etc. I scanned the main Wigeon flocks without much luck, so I scrutinised the islands in the distance where other ducks were asleep. The green head of a drake Mallard stood out but there was a second green head next two it, which seemed less striking and the mantle plumage was all wrong for the this species. I zoomed in to 70x and had my suspicions confirmed: there it was - the reported drake American Wigeon. As luck would have it, the bird sensed my presence perhaps and woke up, then pursued a female (Eurasian Wigeon) all the way from its distance roost to the near shore where I kneeled in wait, camera posed (initially with a 2x converter, then my trusty 1.4x). I then spent a very happy hour or so snapping away, occasionally scanning further afield for the reported Green-winged Teal - unsuccessfully. I was delighted with the results - at least 80 'keepers' from a batch of 500 or so.