Gleaning Facebook: Snow Geese!

 Marion Dobbs reports rare and welcome visitors to Floyd Co. GA. -- Six Snow Geese at Garden Lakes this morning. As is often true, the interesting stuff shows up in the comments.

Here are her pictures:

Comments:

Chris Goodwin

Been an influx of rare ducks around here in last few years. Friend got a Ruddy Duck pic there last year at GL. At a farm pond nearby we've had some crazy divers including redheads, Barrow's goldeneye, and long-tailed duck. I also think there are a few pintail at GL.

Marion Dobbs

Ruddy Ducks are fairly regular in small numbers at Garden Lakes each year. There's one here right now. Redhead tend to come and go throughout the winter and often in large numbers. In late winter, they've been observed 200-300 at a time on Paris Lake at Georgia Highlands for the past few winters, late in the season. I believe Barrow's Goldeneye would be a state record, but Common Goldeneye is seen occasionally in Floyd Co. I don't think I've ever seen more than one at a time. I have one record of Long-tailed Duck (3 individuals) at Garden Lakes (2004), but there are a few scattered records throughout the state. I've not seen Northern Pintail anywhere this year, and I see them only rarely. One, perhaps injured, hung out with the Mallards/malloids at GL for a long time last winter. I monitor wintering waterfowl and other water birds in the county, reporting the records to 

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

 via eBird. If you are ever aware of any unusual birds or birds in high numbers, I'd appreciate it if you'd PM me! I know there are some good things out there on private property I don't have access to.

Chris Goodwin

It was definitely a female Barrows goldeneye. The 3 long tail duck were actually hanging with a group of about 50 redhead a few winters ago. And I also saw a group of canvas backs on a private lake just off the Coosa River on Highway 100 a few years back. That's the only ones I've seen here although they are quite common on Guntersville which is not far away. Thanks for the info

Marion Dobbs

If you ever see another Barrow's Goldeneye, be sure to get photographs. Aside from a 1940 record and 2 records in 2009, all in extreme northern TN, there are no records for any southeastern states.

Katie S. Kimbrough

Beautiful!

Melanie Collette Babb

There are many varieties of water fowl that pass through Garden Lakes each fall.

Marion Dobbs

And many that stay the winter or pass through in the spring. I've recorded 40 species of water birds (ducks/geese/grebes/coots/cormorants/herons/egrets/shorebirds/gulls/terns), including 20 duck species, over the past 15+ years. The big lake typically hosts over 1500 wintering birds at any given time over the colder months. It's quite amazing, considering it's only maybe 35 ac and surrounded by houses and human activity!