The Green-winged Teal which was found in Poole Harbour in early 2000 followed soon after the BOU decision to make the two races species in their own right. The bird was relocated again in early February 2001 and living within 1 mile of the site I grabbed my pencils and paints and headed off.
I caught up with it on the Upton Country Park side of the Bay while it was sleeping on a sheltered bank. The absence of creamy lines round the green eye mask and the bold white vertical flank stripe were both obvious. After 20 minutes or so the North American vagrant woke up and began displaying to a female Common Teal.
