A couple of folks have suggested female Common Goldeneye (thanks Liz and Bob!), which does match everything from the neck down! But the lack of a forehead, and the eye so high and forward throws me. It's definitely not the shape of head that I'd expect from a goldeneye. But if that's what it is, then my apologies for the false alarm. There definitely were Common Goldeneye on the other side of the harbor, but I didn't get nearly as good a view of them for comparison.
-Dale On Tue, Feb 8, 2022 at 5:21 PM Dale Trexel <daletre...@gmail.com> wrote: > Today in Grand Marais at the campground on the west side of the harbor, we > spotted what appears to be a White-Winged Scoter in the little bay behind > the inner breakwall by the beach. I managed to grab a few digiscoped photos > with my phone: > > https://photos.app.goo.gl/YPYuK4km146KGnux8 > > The head looks like a first winter male White-winged Scoter, with the > white eye (but no crescent), all black head, long sloping bill and yellow > tip. But I've been looking at a lot of photos on the internet and I haven't > seen anything with the distinct transition of black head to light neck, and > dirty gray breast. The white on the wings also seemed a bit more extensive > than you'd expect from a WWSC. > > Is this just a weird transitionary moult phase? Or something more > interesting? > > Also, it looks like this species hasn't been reported in eBird on western > Lake Superior since last November, so it's more notable of a sighting than > I had expected at the time. We've seen them on the North Shore before, but > usually far out over the lake, barely identifiable with a scope, so this > up-close view was special. > > Dale Trexel > Mendota Heights, MN (usually) > ---- General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
