Very interesting bird! When looking at the middle top photo (inset) I would think that this is a stejnegeri because of the paler line on the lower bill.

Photos of one Icelandic stejnegeri (one bird):
http://www3.hi.is/~yannk/myndir/rarity/dm_vkorpond010503.jpg
http://www3.hi.is/~yannk/myndir/rarity/dm_vkorpond020503.jpg

Photos of Icelandic deglandi (several birds):
http://www3.hi.is/~yannk/myndir/rarity/db_meldeg_240405_2.jpg
http://www3.hi.is/~yannk/myndir/rarity/yk_meldeg120608.jpg
http://www3.hi.is/~yannk/myndir/rarity/grh_meldeg270505.jpg
http://www3.hi.is/~yannk/myndir/rarity/bth_meldeg200506.jpg

The whitish area on top of the bill (on deglandi) is usually quite visible which does not seem to be the case on this Danish bird. Maybe a hybrid??

Yann

I agree with Yann, the head shape and bill colours of this bird look straightaway like Stejneger's Scoter (Asian White-winged). I am sure it is not an American White-winged. Better photos will show the features more clearly and others features which are not discernable here,but I can't see any hybrid influence at the moment, so I am expecting it will prove to be a fine Stejneger's.

Martin

I have not yet seen this individual, but hopefully in the weekend this has changed ;-) Yet I have a few comments based on the distant photos so fare present on netfugl.

The yellow colour on the upper mandible of fusca extends further along the cutting edge towards the bill base than the pinkish colour on both deglandi and stejnegeri which give the impression that the bright colour is situated further away from the eye on the latter two forms than on fusca. The photos support deglandi and stejnegeri in this character when the bird is seen together with fusca. It also seems to have a distinct line of bright yellow lip-gloss only along the cutting edge on upper mandible as diagnostic for stejnegeri whereas deglandi has a yellow line squeezed in between the orange pink colour and the black bill knob. Additionally, it appears to have a rather flat and elongated forehead as a stejnegeri without the bulbous profile of a deglandi.

I have just checked my field sketches from Mongolia, and indeed the bill knob varies considerable with some almost lacking a protuberance. Based on a rather small material I agree with Martin Garner that the height of bill 'knob' is considerably less important than overall head/bill profile and bill colors.

I can't see any hybrid influence at present, but new photos can off course change this impression...

Photos of one Icelandic stejnegeri (one bird):
Icelandic stejnegeri 1a
Icelandic stejnegeri 1b


Photos of Icelandic deglandi (several birds):
Icelandic deglandi
Icelandic deglandi
Icelandic deglandi
Icelandic deglandi

Tak Erhardt.
Min stemme går til stejnegeri ;-)

Yep , bill colour is one of the most important characters here , and when looking at the photos , I agree that it seems to have a darker orangey yellow colour than the bills of the neighbouring fuscas. The yellow “lip” on the upper mandible is – as Kent states – a good character on stejnegeri , and in some of the pics it actually seems to show just that. However , it can’t be seen on some of the other photos , and I’m not sure if that is due to the poor photo-quality or if maybe what looks like a brighter yellowish “lip” is indeed reflections of light? To complicate matters further , Sebastian – who has actually seen the bird – describes the bill as "more flesh-coloured than the more yellow-billed fuscas”. So , on the basis of the photos I would agree that the overall colour is looking good for stejnegeri – though maybe without the yellow lip (?) ; on the other hand , Sebastian’s statement about a flesh-coloured bill (as I understand it) would point more towards deglandi , I think!
Another character that Kent mentions is , how far out the black feathering/bill base reaches on the bill. On the picture above (top , middle) it certainly seems to go out quite a bit , but on others (mainly Jan’s) this is much less obvious. Likewise , the head shape seems to vary a lot depending on what pictures you’re looking at. On the two leftmost pictures above , it looks like the forehead has a rather flat/linear slope with no distinct angle on the bill. On some of the other photos (e.g. the top , middle one) the forehead looks rather steep with an obvious angle to the bill , so I think it is difficult to conclude anything on that from the photos. Regarding the “nostril-knob” , I agree that the wattle/protuberance on top of it can vary , but the knob itself is usually quite prominent. In real life this should be possible to see , but again the pictures are inconclusive in my opinion.
All in all I agree , that judging from the photos there’s a really god possibility that this could be a stejnegeri. However , different pics seems to be telling different stories , and are even inconsistent with eye witness accounts. So , I think we need better quality photos to say anything for sure , or else leave it up to the birders who have had the benefit of seeing the bird “live” make the final call.

The bird is still present today and can be seen from the icecream-cafe just where the road "Fyrvej" meets the road "Klitvej" about 400 metres SW of Blåvand lighthouse. Up to 100 birders are in the area as there is a birding festival in the area (it was in the early days of this festival that the bird was discovered). The bird is not all that difficult to find and with many local birders in the area it is probably very easy to twitch. Its best to search for the bird in the morning hours when you have the sun in your back (it can be difficult to see around noon and in the early afternoon hours).
Birders on site today favours "stejnegeri" (as do I) but so far no photographs have yet clinched the racial ID beyond any doubt.
The bird is resting as close as 500 meters from land, (perhaps a bit to far away for the top-photographers!?). Hopefully someone will be able to get closer shots of the bird during the next couple of days.
The wind should stay in the north until at least sunday and the bird will therefore presumably stay for the rest of the week.

Happy twitching

Sebastian

Nonsense!!
If you go 400 metres SW of the lighthouse you will probably drown!!
The bird can be seen 400 metres SE of Blåvand Lighthouse...

"...birders on site today favours "stejnegeri" (as do I)" SEK said...I wonder what birders on the site favours tomorrow...do we get any closer I wonder ;-)