April 19, 2009 An Unusual Minnesota Visitor

Barrow’s Goldeneyes are only occasionally seen in Minnesota. They are western birds and spend their winters in the Northwestern United States. They nest from British Columbia north through Alaska. A little over a week ago someone found a male Barrow’s Goldeneye at the sewage ponds in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. We live only about 15 miles from Grand Rapids so I was able to photograph it. Here you see the male Barrow’s Goldeneye paired with a female Common Goldeneye. One of the key distinguishing field marks for a Barrow’s Goldeneye is the comma-shaped white spot on its face.

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Here is another photo of the Goldeneye pair which gives you a better look at another key field mark, the row of white spots along the side. A sewage pond may not sound like a very attractive place to visit. Well, the ambience isn’t the attraction. Birders go to these ponds because lots of ducks, geese, and shorebirds are attracted to them. Sometimes these ponds are the only water to be found in the area. In Grand Rapids that isn’t the case, but the ponds do stay open all winter. The early migrating ducks can find some open water there and they aren’t likely to be disturbed.

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For comparison purposes, here is a photo of a male Common Goldeneye. They truly are common and are found across most of the United States in winter and in most of Canada in the summer. Note that the white spot on the face is more rounded and there is more white on the side of the Common Goldeneye.

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Here is a photo of two Canada Geese in a pond next to our driveway. The goose in the foreground has an unusual white spot on its forehead. Contrast that to the normal all-black forehead on the goose in the background. The weeds and the water are stained red by the iron ore in our soil.

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This is a Red-breasted Nuthatch and it has been faithfully coming to our peanut feeder all winter. The male and the female of this species look very similar. However, you can tell this is a male because of the black stripe along the top of the head. On the female, this stripe is blue, the same color that you see on the back of the bird.

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