Green-winged Teal at Lloyd Lake

Amidst a sea of mallards and mostly gulls, a gem was hidden in the crowd of birds begging the woman with a loaf of bread. The green-winged teal pictured below (the smallest North American duck, per Sibley) attracted the attention of me and my new birding companion for a day (so far), Pete. We had just become acquainted through a mutual friend and spent an afternoon birding in the City.

Green-winged Teal, Lloyd Lake, 11/9/2011.

After garnering inspiration from the film in one of my recent posts, Pete is attempting a Big Year of his own, of sorts. He's going to make an effort to see lots of birds and record them, but he's not competing against anyone. This is my kind of birder. We started in Golden Gate Park, then drove to the Presidio and birded both inland and on the coast there.

We stopped at Lloyd Lake rather on a whim, but found, mixed in with common city birds, the following: mew gull, American wigeon, hooded merganser, wood duck (male and female, both stunningly beautiful), and a few unsightly Muscovy ducks. We even stopped for a moment to admire the plumage of mallards.