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'Rare Regular' in Minnesota
This female Barrow's Goldeneye was found in a raft of 505 Common Goldeneyes at Canal Park, Duluth at 11:05 am. This represents a sharp increase in the number of goldeneyes in Duluth in the last day or two, since only about 150 had been seen in the last month, and I believe this female Barrow's is a newly arrived spring migrant, Although the wintering male Barrow's was also present in the same raft, he appeared to be paired with a female Common Goldeneye. The brilliant orange bill of this female Barrow's stuck out among all the Common Goldeneyes like a carrot on fire. Although some apparent female/immature Common Goldeneyes can show dusky orangish bills, none can match this brilliant orange. Other features to note on this female Barrow's include the stubby bill shape (which is so short it appears nearly as high at the base as it is long), the highly curved lower edge to the lower mandible (in female Common this lower edge is straighter), the steep/nearly vertical rise of the forehead from the base of the bill, the more square head shape, and the very dark brown coloration of the head feathering. Although male Barrow's are clearly regular in Minnesota in the last decade (perhaps at least in part because of their fidelity to wintering sites, returning year after year), females are clearly more rare, with the last report in Duluth on 23-27 March 2010.
Karl J. Bardon
