[birdky] West Ky and Barrow's Goldeneye

From: David Roemer <dlroemer@xxxxxxxxx>
To: bird ky <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:57:45 -0800 (PST)
10 Dec 09
HONKER LAKE/BARKLEY
Great Egret

FULTON COUNTY
Red-tailed Hawk
B.j.calurus x Harlan's or Krider's intergrade (Hickman)
B.j.harlani (light adult along levee near Lake 9)
Greater Yellowlegs (5 juvs at pond near Sassafras Ridge)
Western Meadowlark (2)

REELFOOT/LONG POINT UNIT
Snow Goose (~2000)
Ross's Goose (~10)
Greater White-fronted Goose (few thousand)
Cackling Goose (23)
Rusty Blackbird (20+)

11 Dec
FULTON COUNTY/LOWER BOTTOMS
Snow Goose (~5000)
Ross's Goose (~20)
Brown Thrasher (5)
Lapland Longspur (300+ Open Pond)
Brewer's Blackbird (2)

KY DAM
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE (female)
Long-tailed Duck (ad male in stunning plumage)

12 Dec
KY DAM
Long-tailed Duck

BARKLEY DAM
Am White Pelican (above)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (2nd or 3rd-cycle)

The Barrow's Goldeneye was observed above the dam from the recreation area in 
the company of Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead and the Long-tailed Duck (thanks 
Hap for posting the report).  It was first noticed due to the yellow bill, but 
I've seen a few female Common Goldeneyes through the years with yellow bills 
which were obviously Common Goldeneye based on structure.  This bird showed the 
steeper forehead and flatter crown of Barrow's with great comparative study 
alongside female Commons.  After at least 10 minutes of viewing, the flock flew 
south up the lake and the difference in upperwing pattern was apparent as she 
flew right beside a female Common, with the Barrow's showing distinctly less 
white in the upperwing coverts.  I searched the remaining 2 hours or so before 
dark without relocating her. 

A spectacular migration occurred on 11 December with several thousand ducks 
above the dam on Kentucky Lake, and the gull roost stretched from the dam to as 
far up the lake as I could see.  Flocks of goldeneye were constantly moving 
south over the lake.  There were amazingly fewer birds on the lake the 
following morning at daylight.  Twenty-four species of waterfowl were observed 
on the trip.

I was treated to a race between an adult Bald Eagle and a female Mallard at 
Long Point on the evening of the 10th.  Every bird on the refuge suddenly got 
up and I saw the eagle approaching from low over the woods to the east in full 
powered flight.  It singled out a female Mallard and from about ten feet behind 
her chased her all the way across the fields and over the woods to the west.  
She gave a couple of fakes along the way which caused the eagle to break its 
stride momentarily and she outflew that eagle.  With the exception of the 
couple of fakes, the eagle never missed a single wingbeat.  It then returned to 
sit in a tree and look over the supper menu.

David Roemer
Bowling Green 

 








================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBERS=============
The BIRDKY Mailing List requires you to sign
your messages with first & last name, city, &
state abbreviation.
--------------------------------------------------
To post to this mailing list, send e-mail to:
birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
--------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, send e-mail to:
birdky-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject line.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Visit the Kentucky Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.biology.eku.edu/kos.htm
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
BIRDKY List Manager: Gary Ritchison, Richmond, KY
E-mail: gary.ritchison@xxxxxxx
[birdky] West Ky and Barrow's Goldeneye

Other related posts:
