ML646879696

Observation details

*Rare. Awesome find by Isoo O'Brien, the only report so far this winter in Illinois of this species. Thankfully it was in his scope when I arrived, and I was able to get a few great looks through mine as well before heading out to Chicago. Hard to exactly nail down the frequency of Barrow's Goldeneye on the Mississippi River near Rock Falls, IL/Dubuque, IA. Earlier this year, Jim Forde (Iowa birder) shared with Steve Freed that he'd found a Barrow's Goldeneye in this exact stretch of river on February 2nd. Ryan Jones and I tried for that bird on February 4th this year, but had no luck - so this was a really nice consolation, especially after also missing the Short-billed Gull earlier today. It's likely that Barrow's Goldeneye are more regular/an annual bird in this region, especially given the sheer volume of Common Goldeneye here, but they do still appear to be quite rare. Conditions do often impact one's ability to sort through all the birds in this stretch of river on any given day as well. Today's bird was a gorgeous adult male Barrow's Goldeneye, only my second in the state following the February 5, 2012 bird at Skokie Lagoons in Cook County. A goldeneye with an extra black back that covered much more of the birds' back, along with a black spur dipping into its flanks next to its neck. Head was more bushy and pushed forward, and white crescent at the base of the bill was more moon-shaped and not as much of an oval. Photos taken.