I called Rick Wiltraut to see if he wanted to go along with me on Thursday. At 2:00 AM, we started the 5-hour drive to Canonsburg Lake. We got there around 7:15 AM and started the short walk along the lake shore to the area where the bird was most often seen. It wasn't long after we reached the spot that Rick found 'the duck' feeding along the far shore with a few Mallards. We took some long distance photos and waited, hoping for it to possibly come closer.
When a Bald Eagle landed in a tree above it, the Mottled Duck flew over to the near side of the lake.
That allowed me to get some closer, more detailed photos showing the dark spot near the base of the unmarked olive-colored bill.
Right at the same spot, there was a Bald Eagle nest. We saw both adults coming and going to the nest that held three young eaglets.
Other birds noted at the lake included Wood Duck, Chimney Swift, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Great Blue and Green Heron, Cooper's Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Warbling Vireo, Tree, Barn, and Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Cedar Waxwing, American Goldfinch, Baltimore Oriole, and Yellow and Blackpoll Warbler. We left around 10:00, stopped for a nice lunch, and got back home around 5:00 PM. If accepted by the Pennsylvania Ornithological Records Committee, this bird will represent the first Mottled Duck record for Pennsylvania.
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