I'm not sure who it was that started the Aussies. It may be who you say. I'll have to look up my info. I know at least one of the 'big shot' bantam duck breeders in PA, Oakes or Sheraw had a hand in it too. Then they went to Holderread, who has been pushing them. I agree with you, there could be a wild species when crossed with the mallard which produced a viable hybrid, or the off chance that a fertile hybrid was produced and used from a cross in which they would normally be sterile. Fertile mules as in horse/ass have been reported. My big question is that with all of this documentation on the origin of the breed, with originators and everything, why is it that no one has once offered to name the mysterious Australian species of wildfowl which was used in the cross? It is my opinion that the reason is that by perpetuating this mystique, it creates higher perceived value for the ducklings in some people who just gobble up the story without question, and want to own some of these new creations. As you see, I'm much more skeptical than you. I also have reservations because of the near impossibility to differentiate the females of the 3 varieties. There is enough confusion among people already regarding proper breed and variety designations, as you know with the African and Toulouse thing that's been going on now for over 100 years. All of the new call varieties, and even some recently recognized breeds such as Welsh Harlequins and Silver Appleyards have confusing colorations that most breeders and judges cannot even agree on. How is one expected to keep pure the different varieties of these Aussies when we can't even tell the females apart? There are differences, I know, but if given one female of each variety, I doubt that there are a dozen people who could tell which one is of which variety. The Anconas, oh boy. I'll tell you now, I'm probably about to insult you. I'll start off by saying that I do support the recognition of a randomly pied duck. I'm not big into pied animals of any species myself, but I believe that there is a place for them, and that they can add another dimention to domestic waterfowl breeding. I even support anyone who creates such a breed, and introduces it to the world for what it is. My big problem here, is the unfounded claims by the breed's originator, Holderread, who claims that they are of ancient English origin. Anyone who has had much experience with Magpie ducks knows that they are extremely difficult to breed with correct markings. Great numbers of offspring are mismarked, but a majority of them still retain a trace of the pattern, with colored feathers concentrated on the head cap and the back. Many, many of these so called Anconas also have the colored feathers concentrated in these areas. There is a close resemblance of Anconas to the many mismarked magpies which occur. As I said, I'd welcome the creation of such a new breed, even if derived from another, as long as it's done honestly. Holderread claims an ancient English origin, but he offers not one reference to the breed before he began offering them. I've done a fair amount of breed history research, and have collected a fairly good library of domestic waterfowl and poultry historical books, and have found not one mention anywhere of these so called Anconas. I've even offered $100 to anyone who could provide me with a written reference to the Ancona duck prior to Holderread. It is my opinion that the Ancona breed was made up, simply as a way to sell mismarked Magpie ducklings which would otherwise be worthless. Holderread has long since graduated from being a breeder with quality stock, to a hatchery business, hatching and selling as many birds as possible. It's a brilliant business move if you're a hatchery to find a way to profit from a formerly unsalable commodity, but where is the proof of these claims which are made? What's worse IMO, is that he's somehow convinced the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy of his claims, and they now pass along the same story. Ironically, neither one pays much attention to breeds such as the Dutch Hookbill, which does have an extensive written historical record, by many early poultry historians, and others, including none other than Charles Darwin himself. My opinion for the reason for that is that the Hookbills are very difficult to hatch, and so will never provide a hatchery owner with much of an income. End of pontification for now. Take it or leave it, but, please, try to prove me wrong. I'll even send you the 100 bucks.

Thanks! I seldom use a tripod, but since I was in the car, I just balanced the Canon 400mm lens against the window. My Canon EOS 40D needs strong light from behind and to be close to work well, so I was glad the Buffleheads came as close as they did..about 40 feet away while fighting. As to why they were fighting, Buffleheads are monogamous, at least for a few years at a time, so apparently the newcomer male was defending his mate of choice that year. Perhaps she'd not yet made up her own mind because she kept approaching the single male, bobbing her head, and he'd bob back. Whenever he noticed this the first male would attack and drive the single male away, even though the single male kept trying to continue his foraging dives between attacks. These sea ducks are among the last to migrate to their breeding grounds in Canada, where they use Northern Flicker and Pileated Woodpecker holes by small lakes (link to Bufflehead pdf files http://seaduckjv.org/infoseries/buff_sppfactsheet.pdf ) For the Wood Ducks, I crawled into an old slab wood lean-to blind and balanced the lens against a cross bar. They are very jittery and I've not been able to sneak up on them since

Thanks-taking photos from the car was necessary because of the ticks-I just brushed the grass with one hand and instantly had a tick on it. I looked at the photos after I posted them and decided that the Blue Grosbeak must be a juvenile male..I thought it was too early, but obviously not; most females only have blue on their backs. But, hey, I've never photographed ANY Blue Grosbeak before

Thanks everyone! I love composing photos. First, a couple corrections ... The hummingbirds is an Allen's and the yellow mystery flower is an Elderberry. Nola Anne, I have a Canon EOS 60D which is a digital SLR (DSLR) with interchangeable lenses. Jodi-