Yesterday, Oct 19, my Minn Birding Weekends (MBW) group studied an apparent Barrow's Goldeneye, either a male in eclipse plumage or a juvenile male, at Wigwam Bay in Mille Lacs Lake. The exact location was by the rocks just offshore at the junction of Mille Lacs Co Rd 25 & U S Hwy 169.
The tentative ID was based on a combination of field marks: the black line across the white wing patch (visible at rest and in flight), the head and bill shape, and the dark brown head with no hint of rusty coloration. Unfortunately, there were no other goldeneyes present for direct comparison, and the differences between goldeneyes in this plumage are subtle. (Because of the bright and clear "golden" irides, I suspect this was an adult male in eclipse plumage, rather than a juvenile male.) Some of us took field notes on the bird, and Dave Cahlander took several digital photos, so perhaps some of these will appear on the "Recently Seen" section of moumn.org. The details of this sighting will be submitted to the MOU's Records Committee who will, of course, determine the status of this record. My apologies in the delay in posting this sighting, but I wanted to first consult some ID references after I returned home to reinforce my impressions of the ID. Besides that Golden-crowned Sparrow the MBW group saw this past weekend, other species of interest seen at various locations in the Leech Lake-Lake Winnie-Mille Lacs area included: Cackling Goose, Black- bellied Plover, Sanderling, Pectoral Sandpiper, Franklin's Gull, Caspian and Forster's terns, Black-backed Woodpecker, Northern Shrike, Orange-crowned Warbler, Vesper and Harris's sparrows, and Evening Grosbeak. No unusual loons were found, although we did make a point to study Common Loons showing well-defined white flank patches (often considered a diagnostic field mark for Arctic Loon) or up-tilted bills (some consider this diagnostic for Red-throated Loon). Be aware, however, that any species of loon can sometimes show these same features. Kim Eckert
