Odd Goldeneye in Queen Anne's County

There was an interesting post from Harry Armistead on the MDOSPREY listserv earlier this week.

It read, "I just had a call from Lou Carpenter of York, PA, who asked that I post this information on MDOSPREY. At 12:30, Monday, December 14, he saw 2 female goldeneyes at Jackson Creek Public Landing (east side), Kent Island, Queen Annes County. One had an all yellow bill. He's not saying this is a Barrow's Goldeneye but wanted it reported so that others might secure a better look at other features, such as the head profile and the pattern of white on the upper wing. He saw these 2 birds, no males present, at c. 200 yards through a 40X Bushnell scope. - Best to all. - Harry Armistead, Philadelphia."Today, I was driving back from a meeting in Salisbury and thought I'd stop off at Jackson Landing Road to investigate this sighting. The temps felt like the 20's and the winds were burning cold straight through my clothing. My face felt sunburned and my fingers ached as I tried to take some photos of this bird. It stayed a great distance away, but here are a few photos from this afternoon.I took these poor quality photos and sent them in an email to some of my more experienced birder friends. Matt Hafner was kind enough to reply with the following welcomed information: "Hey Dan, I'm far from a goldeneye expert, but this strikes me as a Common Goldeneye. I've only seen one like this before, but Steve Collins photographed one at Conowingo a few years ago. Photos HERE. Basically, the bill looks very long and the head shape seems to better fit Common. It is very triangular with a point over the eye. Thanks for going to check it out. I'm surprised someone hasn't already. -Matt"Despite it being completely yellow-orange in color, this Goldeneye's bill looked massive compared to what I would expect for a BARROWS GOLDENEYE. My only experience with a BARROWS were last winter's male BARROWS in Calvert County and female BARROWS in Dorchester County. Those two birds had cute, little bills and a strikingly different pushed-forward forehead.Click on any of the photos for slightly larger versions.

Good Birding,

Dan

Economy Is In The Tank So Enjoy Some Photos

You should take your honey out and maybe go see a movie. I wonder if 'The Three Amigos' is playing anywhere?Maybe the best thing to do during times like these is just hang out with your friends.You can yell all you want, but it won't make a difference.Sometimes all you can do is shake your head and wonder...Have a great weekend,

Dan

A Red Neck in West Annapolis

A RED-NECKED GREBE to be more precise. I stopped by the boat ramp in my West Annapolis neighborhood on Weems Creek at 4PM. I was coming home from work and thought a quick scan of the creek was in order. I noticed three COMMON GOLDEN EYE, one of which had me perplexed. I sent the photo (above) to a friend for a second opinion.It's fairly clear that the ducks in the first photo are in fact COMMON GOLDEN EYE. I am still fairly new at this bird identification thing, so sometimes I prefer to play it safe and get a second opinion.Hoping that I might be able to grab some better looks at the GOLDEN EYE before the sun went away for the night, I hurried back to the boat ramp around 5:30PM. This time I came equipped with scope and tripod, providing for much better 'looks' at that mystery bird.That is when I was lucky enough to find a RED-NECKED GREBE. Did you know that Red-necked Grebes regularly ingest a solid helping of their own feathers? It's true.The feathers that they eat sit in the bird's stomach, but exactly why is not known. Some experts suspect that those feathers protect the digestive system from bones and other difficult to digest bits. (Much like the pizza I ate for dinner.)So that is the end of that story that occurred at the beginning of the weekend! But I've got one more for you...What in tarnation is this? I noticed it swimming around Weems Creek this evening while I was photographing the GREBE. Beaver perhaps? No, their freshwater mammals right? And besides, I've seen lots of beavers in my day. (There are several at Waterworks Park in Annapolis.) Beavers regularly will flop their tails to show you that they are pretty cool. I suppose that tail flop thing could also be used as a scare tactic whenever humans or other potential predators are near. But this particular mammal did no such thing. It just swam off into the headwaters of the creek. Seems a bit small for a RIVER OTTER, but a search of Maryland's DNR website got me no closer to an identification. Have any thoughts? I'd love to hear them.

Have a great weekend,

Dan