Subject: [Tweeters] Common x Barrow's Goldeneye at Carkeek Park in N. Seattle
Date: Jan 9 16:26:51 2008
From: Andrea Wuenschel - chyroptera at yahoo.com


Hi all,

Saw an adult male Common x Barrow's Goldeneye hybrid
at Carkeek Park (in north Seattle) today at noon. It
was actively diving & foraging near the shore by
itself a little ways away from a few other Barrow's
Goldeneye.

When I saw the bird, I just couldn't make the white
facepatch into either a crescent or a oval, no matter
how hard I tried. The back was mainly black, but the
white patch was larger than a typical Barrow's. The
bill was also intermediate in shape between the two
species. When I cracked open the Sibley's to check,
sure enough, there was a lovely rendering of almost
the exact bird I was looking at.

I've seen lots of Barrow's and Commons before, but
this was a first to see a hybrid, and at such a close
range.

(aided by 8x42 bins)

Andrea Wuenschel
North Seattle



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