Orchard Beach 11/27--Barnacle Goose

Because the winds were going to gust 30 to 40 MPH today, we didn't plan on doing any birding, but when Shari saw that a Barnacle Goose, which would be a lifer for us, was reported at Orchard Beach in The Bronx we decided to brave the elements.

The goose, if not an escapee, is a real rarity. Normally they winter in the UK and the Netherlands after spending the summer on the tundra of Greenland and Spitzbergen. It was reported to be in a flock of Canada Geese near the entrance to the parking lot and after a few minutes of searching Shari found it in the flock of about 200 geese. Pretty obvious being smaller and with a white face. I've used a B&W conversion of Shari's photograph to eliminate the misleading hues caused by the direct sunlight on its wings (it turned them from black to blue). The bird is banded and appears to be injured. While we were observing it it limped and stood on only its left foot, holding the right one up and out. It looked to like the band had slipped down over the foot and was hampering the bird, although in this photograph, before it took a brief, half-hearted flight, the band seems to be secure high up on the leg.

The wind was blowing hard as forecast, so we took a walk in the woods where we protected from the worst of the blowing. We once saw Long-eared Owls in this part of the park and thought that was a long shot that we'd find one again, but we didn't. Some little winter birds like chickadees, nuthatches and a titmouse were around, and some common waterfowl in the sound.

However, adding a life bird made the trip worth it and we also had a good seafood lunch on City Island.