(...) Birdwatcher Māris Jaunzemis spotted the bird at the Sātiņi fish ponds in Saldus Municipality. The bird observed at Sātiņi was a female ring-necked duck, which was staying in a flock with tufted ducks and common pochards. The main identifying features are the pattern of the head and bill – a dark crown, a lighter cheek, a light vertical area at the base of the bill, as well as a light band before the tip of the bill. The most similar bird is the female common pochard, which differs in the shape of the head and bill; its head colouring is not as contrasting, and it lacks the light band on the bill.

The ring-necked duck is found in North America, breeding in Canada, the northern United States, and central Alaska. It winters south of its breeding region, mostly along the oceanic coasts, in Florida, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and in smaller numbers inland. Individual birds are observed every year in various European countries; for instance, there are at least 64 records in Sweden, and since 2006, the rarity committee no longer evaluates sightings of this species there. Finland has more than 20 records, in Poland the species is classified as an irregular visitor, while in Estonia the ring-necked duck has been observed once in 2009, and in Lithuania no sightings have been recorded to date.
Photo from birdsoftheworld.org