Duck id please (1 Viewer)

[gowildwithdebs]

Hello - hope you can help.

I spotted these three swimming around together, definitely as a group of three in amongst the mallards and Canada geese at Dovestones Reservoir, Greater Manchester area, UK.

I've ID'd the first bird as a Crested blue Swedish duck; the middle bird is a cross between a duck and a goose? (I am very new to birding, so forgive me if that one is obvious). The duck at the back has a reddish brown head and a green bill.

Any ideas please?!

 

[THE_FERN]

Well all clearly with strong domestic influence. ...and most of us would stop there... (Middle just looks like a form of Mallard to me: don't see the need to invoke geese too.)

 

[James Lowther]

Well all clearly with strong domestic influence. ...and most of us would stop there... (Middle just looks like a form of Mallard to me: don't see the need to invoke geese too.)

Yep, three different forms of domesticated mallards.
Cheers
James

 

[stevethehydra]

Yes, no geese involved, all these are domestic Mallards (probably impossible to ID to any "pure" breed once off the farm).

If goose x duck hybrids are possible at all, they must be very rarely viable considering how easily waterfowl hybridise in general and how many farms with both ducks and geese there must be, but I've never even seen a photo of one! (and for comparison, I've seen photos of at least 3 different individual goose x swan hybrids...)

(I have seen photos of Egyptian Goose x Mallard hybrids, but that doesn't really count, as despite its name Egyptian Goose is actually in the shelduck subfamily, so it's more of a duck than a goose really...)

 

[gowildwithdebs]

Thankyou. I was curious to know why these three had chummed up. Makes sense, I suppose, that they recognise that they are each not quite "right'.