BREEDING MALE CINNAMON TEAL, SOUTH CELL, CELLERY FIELDS, SARASOTA,FLORIDA, 2/11/2019

         The Cinnamon Teal is a rare bird in Florida, but for the last week or so it has been sighted at the Celery Fields in Sarasota, Florida.  Since this teal would be a lifer for us if we got a good photo of it, this morning we traveled for the two hour trip from Naples to the Celery Fields.  The Cinnamon Teal was reported yesterday to be in the South Cell of the Celery Fields.  As we approached the South Cell we saw a group of birders looking at something; low-and-behold it was the Cinnamon Teal.  The Cinnamon Teal was among a group of Blue-winged Teals and was quite far away, but we managed to get some decent photos of it.

         We can ID this duck as a breeding male Cinnamon Teal as follows:

• Reddish-brown plumage on what we can see of the sides and underparts
• The head and neck are darker then the underparts
• Long dark bill (longer than that of a Blue-winged Teal)
• Dull brown back with buff stripes
• Usually found as a subordinate species among Blue-winged Teals.  This Cinnamon Teal was among a flock of Blue-winged Teals and it's reddish-brown color really stood out
• Blackish tail.
  
  The Cinnamon Teal is a dabbling duck generally found in western North America and South America.  It lives an average of 20 to 30 years.  If an adult Cinnamon Teal with ducklings senses danger it performs a "broken wing" display to lure the predator away before flying off.
  
  The Cinnamon Teal is a new species to our Photographic Life List, which now stands at 841.