On the Wing #57: Nemesis No More

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
"Komito was stupefied. After all his wild-goose chases–the days in the sleet in Alaska, the hours in the summer stench of the Salton Sea, the nights among the border swimmers on the Rio Grande–his hunt for the pink-footed goose was over in thirty seconds. The only way he could describe his feelings was to use a word that, until this point, had been alien to his vocabulary. He felt guilty."
It's amazing how fast a chase can be over when you're in the right place, at the right time. As Sandy Komito's 1998 Big Year experience illustrates in his search for the Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhynchos), this happens every once in a while in the birding world. Now I have my own experience to draw on with regards to a nemesis bird that I've been chasing since the beginning of fall migration last year. As of this Tuesday, I've finally slayed the king of waterfowl (metaphorically of course). After several misadventures with alternate routes on her phone GPS, my girlfriend, Alison and I finally got to the small reservoir (Crane River Bog Reservoir in Carver, MA in case you were wondering) where they had been spotted in recent days. Sure enough, as soon as we got to the waters edge, there they were. The Canvasbacks (Aythya valisineria) with their white backs and dark, sloping foreheads, stuck out like sore thumbs. The place was teeming with waterfowl with over 91 Mute Swans (Cygnus olor) counted as well as varying numbers of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris), and Buffleheads (Bucephala albeola)! A Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) and some Gadwalls (A. strepera) also made an appearance. With the lifer and three year list birds firmly secured, Alison headed back to the car while I scanned for a few more minutes. Finally, the cold wind got to me too. As we drove back from Carver, I squealed with joy. Another lifer down for her and I and the nemesis was no more.

This however isn't to say that the title is now defunct. As we all know, in birding it merely shifts to the next hardest to find. Currently the top three species vying for the spot are the localized Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus), the scattered Barrow's Goldeneye (B. islandica), and the skittish Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima). Presumably, the Snowy probably would take the top spot, but I'm more interested in applying that title to species I've made an effort to look for. With that logic, it would be a tie between the duck and the sandpiper. However, when I take into account which one I want to see more, the duck wins every time. With potential lifers involved, this seems like an unusual phenomena, but it makes more sense with explanation. Surely I would want to see both equally, but as with all people, I'm a complex individual wanting to see different species for different reasons. By that logic, I want to see a Barrow's Goldeneye more simply because they are rarer in my area than Common Goldeneye (B. clangula) and as a result, are far more desirable than the sandpipers which, while requiring more effort to see and locate, are fairly common along rocky coasts and jetties in the winter months. As such, the new nemesis bird as of this moment is the Barrow's Goldeneye and I look forward to the chase ahead as I scour rocky shore and partially frozen lakes to find one.

Have a great weekend ya'll and as always, happy birding ^_^.

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