From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Wed Feb 2 13:57:54 2005 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id j12LuRGp000233 for <[[email protected]]>; Wed, 2 Feb 2005 13:56:28 -0800 (PST) Received: from smtp0.mxim.com (smtp0.mxim.com [204.17.142.2]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id j12Ls6Af000153 for <[[email protected]]>; Wed, 2 Feb 2005 13:54:07 -0800 (PST) Received: from mailgw.mxim.com (mail.mxim.com [172.17.100.3]) by smtp0.mxim.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 9CE623BC50 for <[[email protected]]>; Wed, 2 Feb 2005 13:54:06 -0800 (PST) Received: from design.mxim.com (design.mxim.com [11.1.5.1]) by mailgw.mxim.com (Postfix) with SMTP id 2ECD2F3005 for <[[email protected]]>; Wed, 2 Feb 2005 13:54:02 -0800 (PST) Received: from engserv1 by design.mxim.com with SMTP (1.38.193.4/16.2) id AA18007; Wed, 2 Feb 2005 13:52:17 -0800 Received: from design.mxim.com ([11.1.13.27]) by engserv1.design.mxim.com (Post.Office MTA v3.1 release PO203a ID# 0-64003U1300L100S0) with ESMTP id AAA23810 for <[[email protected]]>; Wed, 2 Feb 2005 13:52:06 -0800 Message-Id: <[[email protected]]> Date: Wed, 02 Feb 2005 13:57:28 -0800 From: [[email protected]] (Bill Maney) X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.08 [en] (WinNT; U) Mime-Version: 1.0 To: SBB <[[email protected]]> Subject: [SBB] sunnyvale goldeneyes References: <02a901c50959$ecdd69c0$[[email protected]]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-BeenThere: [[email protected]] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5b1 Precedence: list List-Id: South Bay Birding List-Unsubscribe: , List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Sender: south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Errors-To: south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Hi, Yesterday (Tuesday) I biked out on the levees in sunnyvale at around 3:30. I think I saw a small flock (6?) of immature or female Barrow's Goldeneyes. If you happen to see them, can you let me know if you agree? Also if anyone has tips to distinguish Barrows from Common Goldeneyes, I'd appreciate some. details: They were in what I call the second yahoo pond. Park at the water plant, then take the low jeep road around the hill, then go down the new wooden ramp to the levy. Turn left and go through the open gate. When the levy veers right there is a small pond in front of you. The birds were in the pond, farthest from the levy. (This pond is subject to tides and a good spot for shorebirds (best in Sunnyvale!?!)) My decision for Barrow's vs Common was based on Sibley's drawings. The head shape I saw was very flat on top with an extension at either end, extending the flat part. The National Geographic guide shows neither bird having a flat head, but the Sibley's guide shows it on only the Barrow's. I saw a sharp angle between the beak and the forehead, and a steep almost vertical forehead, both indicating Barrow's. The light was terrible (sun was low and behind) I couldn't see colors too well but the heads were definitely reddish brown and the neck was ringed with white. The yellow eye was apparent. I couldn't decide whether the beak length was long or short and I didn't think to look for color in the beak till I got home to the Sibley guide. I didn't see them fly. At least one had a white scuff mark below the lores. National Geographic Guide shows this on only Common, but Sibley shows it on both. These birds seemed surprisingly skittish. I got the feeling they were reacting to my movements even at ~60' away. None had the fancy male breeding plumage. I also didn't see the unusual shape of the back of the head shown on Sibley's adult birds which makes me think these may be juveniles. I'm not capitalizing the bird name since I'm not so sure about my ID. Bill Maney Sunnyvale _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. south-bay-birds mailing list ([[email protected]]) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://www.plaidworks.com/mailman/options/south-bay-birds/south-bay-birds-archive%40plaidworks.com This email sent to [[email protected]]