Tufted Duck

Table

Tufted Duck – Accepted
1. ca. 28 Dec 1948	AHY	Livermore ALA	1984-155	10	ph., CAS 61012
2. 10 Apr 1968–10 Apr 1969		Arcata HUM	1984-234	10
and 16 Apr–17 Jul 1970			1986-454	14
3. 04 Feb–07 Mar 1971		Palo Alto SCL	1977-128	4	ph.
4. 15 Feb–03 Mar 1972		Golden Gate Park SF	1972-005	1	ph., AB 26:650, Roberson (1980)
5. 25–31 Jan 1973	*	Lake Sherwood VEN	2004-585	3,30
and 29 Dec 1973–02 Feb 1974			1974-025	3
and 30 Oct 1974–12 Jan 1975			1976-025	3
and 19 Nov 1975–late Feb 1976	*		2004-586	3,30
and 19 Nov 1976–31 Jan 1977	*		2004-587	3,30
6. 31 Oct–12 Dec 1976		Lake Merritt ALA 1976-046/1978-024	3,4	ph., Roberson (1980)
7. 07 Nov 1976–28 Mar 1977		Lake Merritt/Alameda ALA 1976-126/1978-024	3,4	Roberson (1980)
and 27 Oct–06 Nov 1977			1978-024	4	one of two reported
and 15 Nov 1978–13 Jan 1979			1979-013	5
8. 20 Dec 1976–06 Feb 1977	AHY	Tiburon/Mill Valley MRN	1977-004	4
and 14 Jan 1979			1988-067	14
and 10 Feb–23 Mar 1980			1980-071	7
and 12 Dec 1980–13 Feb 1981	*		2004-588	8,30
and 07 Feb–08 Mar 1982			1982-046	8
9. 07 Jan–17 Apr 1978	SY	Limantour MRN	1978-078	5	one of two reported
and 23 Nov 1978–10 Mar 1979			1979-012	5
and 29 Sep 1979–12 Jan 1980	*		2004-589	5,30
and 03 Oct–27 Dec 1980	*		2004-590	14,30
and 26 Oct–14 Nov 1981		Drakes Bay MRN	1983-100	14
and 05–19 Dec 1981		Limantour MRN 1980-237/1981-044	7
10. 30 Jan–05 Feb 1978	ASY	Lake Hennessey NAP	1978-063	5
11. 09–11 Nov 1978		Santa Clara R. mouth VEN	1981-035	7
12. 04 Dec 1978–26 Feb 1979	AHY	Quail Lake LA	1980-049	7
and 10 Nov 1979–08 Jan 1980		7,8	1980-049/ 1982-080
and 15 Jan 1980		Cuddy Valley KER	1982-080	8
and 29 Dec 1983–07 Mar 1984		Quail Lake LA	1984-073	9
and 15 Oct 1985–winter 1986	*		2004-591	14,30
and 25 Nov 1986–24 Jan 1987			1987-015	14
and 17 Nov 1987–05 Mar 1988			1989-057	13
and 01 Feb–08 Mar 1991			1992-103	17
and 11–17 Nov 1991			1992-019	17
13. 19 Jan–12 Feb 1980		Coyote Hills Regional Park ALA	1987-081	14	ph.
14. 05 Feb–03 Mar 1980	ASY	Abbotts Lagoon MRN	1983-101	10,14
and 09 Nov–12 Dec 1980			1980-237	7,10
15. 17 Feb 1980		Berkeley ALA	1987-082	14
16. 09 Nov–12 Dec 1980	AHY	Limantour MRN	1981-044	7
and 08 Nov 1981		Drakes Bay MRN	1983-100	14
and 05 Dec 1981–03 Jan 1982		Limantour MRN	1988-137	14
17. 03 Jan 1981		Tiburon MRN	1986-091	11
18. 07–28 Feb 1981		Pt. Mugu VEN	1982-027	8
19. 17–28 Feb 1981		Lopez Lake SLO	1986-465	11
and 25 Jan–28 Feb 1986			1986-073	11	ph., see also table entry 33
20. 01–09 Jan 1982	ASY	Lake Hennessey NAP	1982-001	7
21. 23–24 Feb 1982		Ferndale HUM	1982-025	8
22. 22 Jan–21 Feb 1983		Lake Perris RIV	1983-053	8
and 25 Nov 1983–05 Mar 1984			1984-075	9
23. 22 Jan–21 Feb 1983		Lake Perris RIV	1983-053	8
and 02 Jan 1984			1984-031	9
24. 20 Feb–02 Apr 1983		Foster City SM	1983-033	8
25. 29 Apr–04 May 1983		Arcata HUM	1992-113	15
26. 13 Feb 1984		San Francisco SF	1988-115	14	ph.
27. 17–22 Mar 1984		Stockton SJ	1984-070	9
28. 16 Feb–17 Mar 1985		Saticoy VEN	1985-042	10
and 02–25 Jan 1986			1986-021	11
29. 17 Feb–03 Mar 1985		Saticoy VEN	1985-197	10
and 20 Feb 1986			1986-188	11
and 04 Feb–05 Mar 1989			1989-040	15
and 21 Dec 1989–10 Mar 1990			1990-001	15	ph., AB 44:328
and 23 Dec 1990			1991-106	16
30. 18 Feb 1985		s San Diego Bay SD	1985-051	14
31. 07 Apr–11 May 1985		Grenada/Lava Lakes SIS 1985-093/1986-294	10
and 11 Mar–12 Apr 1986			1987-391	14	ph.
and 15 Feb–13 Apr 1987			1987-260	12
32. 22 Nov 1985–01 Feb 1986		Arcata HUM	1986-219	11	ph.
33. 18 Jan 1986		Fall R., vic. Glenburn SHA	1986-207	11
34. 25 Jan–04 Mar 1986		San Francisco SF	1986-161	11	ph.
and 19 Dec 1986–20 Mar 1987			1987-022	12	ph., AB 41:1324
and 07 Feb 1987			1987-080	12
35. 01–22 Feb 1986		vic. Wister IMP 1986-202/1986-199	14	ph.
36. 15–16 Feb 1986		Lopez Lake SLO	1986-203	11	see also table entry 19
37. 17 Feb 1986		San Luis Reservoir MER	1986-173	11
and 21–23 Feb 1988			1988-209	13
38. 06 Mar–10 May 1986		Arcata HUM	1986-284	11
39. 16 Nov 1986		Smith R. mouth DN	1987-052	14
40. 27 Dec 1986–10 Jan 1987	AHY	Mallard Reservoir CC	1987-048	12
and 31 Dec 1988			1989-080	13
and 30 Dec 1989			1990-054	15
41. 11–12 Jan 1987	ASY	Oakland ALA	1987-049	12	ph.
42. 19 Jan 1987	ASY	Richardson Bay MRN	1987-155	12
43. 28 Feb 1987		Petaluma SON	1987-154	13
44. 19 Mar–05 Apr 1987		Lake Merritt ALA	1987-092	12
45. 25–27 Mar 1987		Moss Landing MTY	1987-091	13
46. 19 Apr 1987		Belmont Slough SM	1987-129	14
47. 30 Nov–06 Dec 1987		Lake Cachuma SBA	1987-373	13
48. 06–11 Dec 1987		Hesperia Lakes SBE	1988-003	13
49. 18 Dec 1987–17 Feb 1988		Lake Cachuma SBA	1988-043	13	ph.
50. 02 Jan 1988		Belvedere MRN	1988-123	13
51. 24 Jan–14 Feb 1988		Smith R. mouth DN	1988-100	13
and 17 Jan–11 Feb 1989			1989-050	13
52. 05–07 Feb 1988		Smith R. mouth DN	1988-099	14
53. 16–17 Apr 1988		Arcata HUM	1988-203	13	ph.
54. 19 Nov 1988–27 Mar 1989	AHY	San Francisco SF	1988-257	13	Fig. 21, ph., Pyle & McCaskie (1992)
and 09 Jan–26 Apr 1990		1990-007/1990-045	15	Fig. 19, ph., AB 44:323
and 29 Dec 1990		Rodeo Lagoon MRN	1991-056	16
and 18 Jan–03 Mar 1991		San Francisco SF	1991-048	16
and 23 Oct 1991–07 Mar 1992			1991-216	17
55. 26 Nov 1988–27 Mar 1989	AHY	San Francisco SF	1988-253	13	Fig. 21, ph., Pyle & McCaskie (1992)
56. 04 Dec 1988		Castaic Lake LA	1989-001	13
and 28 Jan 1990			1990-087	15
and 28 Dec 1990–28 Jan 1991			1992-100	15
57. 17 Nov 1989–04 Apr 1990		Fremont ALA	1989-135	15
58. 30 Dec 1989		Bolinas MRN	1990-005	15
59. 01 Jan 1990		Lake Hennessey NAP	1990-002	15
60. 14–27 Jan 1990		Puddingstone Reservoir LA	1990-023	15	ph.
and 17 Nov 1990–30 Jan 1991			1991-017	16
61. 22 Jan 1990		San Leandro Bay Reg. Shoreline ALA	1990-053	15
62. 28 Jan–? Feb 1990		Pyramid Lake LA	1990-088	15	ph.
63. 15 Mar 1990		Mare I., Vallejo SOL	1991-008	16
and 16–22 Mar 1991		Glen Cove, Vallejo SOL	1991-073	16
64. 15 Dec 1990		Bouldin I. SJ	1990-198	16
and 18 Dec 1990		Stockton SJ	1991-060	16
65-66. 28 Dec 1990–28 Jan 1991		Castaic Lake LA	1992-101	16
67. 19 Jan–05 Mar 1991		Ventura VEN	1991-015	16	ph., AB 45:320
68. 11 Feb 1991		Mare I., Vallejo SOL	1991-027	17
and 16–21 Mar 1991		Lake Dalwigk SOL	1991-074	17
69. 13 Jan–09 Feb 1992		Miramar Reservoir SD	1992-059	17	Unitt (2004)
70. 17–19 Jan 1992		Lake Isabella KER	1992-052	17
71. 27 Feb–15 Mar 1992		San Timoteo Canyon RIV	1992-071	17	ph.

Tufted Duck – Not accepted, identification not established
19 Jan 1979		Tiburon MRN	2004-564	14,30
23 Feb 1980		Cape Mendocino HUM	1986-326	15,30
14 Jan 1981		Abbotts Lagoon MRN	1987-163	16
and 07 Oct 1981–22 Feb 1982			1987-164	16
07 Nov 1981	2	Limantour MRN	1986-420	14
16–28 Jan 1984		Clements SJ	1984-048	10	Tufted Duck × scaup hybrid
27 Jan 1986		Lopez Lake SLO	1986-204	12
16–19 Nov 1986		Salinas MTY	1987-047	13
16 Feb 1987		Larkspur MRN	1988-196	13
12–20 Feb 1988		Novato MRN	1991-069	18
15 Jan 1990		San Pablo Reservoir CC	1990-055	15
06 Mar 1990		Richardson Bay MRN	1990-217	17
04 Jul–04 Nov 1990		Hayward Regional Shoreline ALA	1990-193	17
and 08 Sep–05 Oct 1991			1992-004	20
14 Jan–07 Feb 1991		Pyramid Lake LA	1992-102	18
04 Apr 1991		Oakland ALA	1991-075	16
16–29 Feb 1992		San Luis Rey R. mouth SD	1992-129	18	Tufted Duck × scaup hybrid

Tufted Duck – Not submitted
20 Feb 1953		Berkeley ALA			Cogswell (1977)
28 Oct–06 Nov 1977		Lake Merritt ALA			AB 32:251, see table entry 7
Tufted Duck – Not submitted (continued)
20 Feb 1978		Limantour MRN			AB 32:395, see table entry 9
18 Apr 1978		Santa Clara R. mouth/Pt. Mugu VEN	14	Webster et al. (1980)
winter 1978/1979		Cape Mendocino HUM			Harris (1996)
05 Feb 1981		Berkeley ALA			AB 35:332
07 Nov 1982		Abbotts Lagoon MRN			AB 37:219
08 Nov 1985		Lake Perris RIV			AB 40:158
15 Feb 1987		Inverness MRN		14	AB 41:323
16 Feb 1987		Larkspur MRN			AB 41:323
10 Feb–04 Mar 1987		Saticoy VEN			AB 41:328, 487
10 Jan 1990		Rodeo Lagoon MRN			AB 44:323
winter 1991/1992	8	“five San Francisco Bay counties”			AB 46:311

Figures

Figure 19. Tufted Ducks often return for multiple winters. This adult male apparently moved between San Francisco, San Francisco County, and Rodeo Lagoon, Marin County, during parts of five years. This photo was taken by an unspecified photographer between 9 January and 26 April 1990 (1990-045; CBRC archives).

Figure 20. Distribution of the 71 Tufted Ducks accepted through 1991/1992. This species is found primarily along the coast and shows a particular affinity for the greater San Francisco Bay area.

Figure 21. These adult Tufted Ducks—a female and a male—found each other far from their usual range, in San Francisco, San Francisco County. There they were photographed on 5 February 1989 (1988-253, 1988-257; Mac McCormick).

Tufted Duck

TUFTED DUCK Aythya fuligula (Linnaeus, 1758)

Accepted: 71 (82%)	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 16	CBRC review: records through winter 1991/1992
Not submitted/reviewed: 20	Color image: none

This diving duck breeds across central and northern Eurasia, from Iceland to Kamchatka. Abundant and largely migratory, the species winters from the United Kingdom and central Europe to Africa, the Middle East, southeastern Asia, and Japan. The species is a regular migrant through the western Aleutian Islands and occurs casually on Bering Sea islands and in coastal portions of Alaska to the north and east. Elsewhere in the New World, the species is encountered rarely and irregularly in Hawaii and along the Pacific coast south to southern California. This duck occurs rarely in the Northeast and in Canada from the Great Lakes eastward, and accidentally in the continent’s interior. Some North American records probably involve escapees.

California’s first Tufted Duck was an adult male shot in the Livermore Valley, Alameda County, between 23 December 1948 and 8 January 1949 (Orr 1950), a period later amended to “about 28 December 1948” (Orr 1962). The Committee suspected that a male in Arcata, Humboldt County, was present continuously from 10 April 1968 through 10 April 1969, and possibly through 17 July 1970, although other authors (e.g., Harris and Gerstenberg 1970) published different date spans. Around this time, the species started being detected annually in California in fall and winter (3 October–11 May). Roughly a quarter of all records involve returning birds, including one of a male thought to have returned to Quail Lake in Los Angeles County (and nearby Cuddy Valley in Kern County) for 14 winters.

The accepted records are scattered throughout the state, although a clear majority come from coastal counties and about half come from the greater San Francisco Bay area (Figure 20). Observers reported the sex of all but three birds, and through 1983 the proportion of males was 89%, but as observer knowledge increased this share dropped to 56% between 1983 and 1992.

Some Tufted Duck reports from California appear to involve Tufted Duck × scaup (A. marila/A. affinis), a relatively frequent hybrid combination (Gillham et al. 1966). Harris et al. (1989) and Randler (2001) provided criteria for identifying such creatures.