The Common Goldeneye I saw on Monday were a male & a female so not the same birds as you saw
Decent areas to look to try to relocate these birds include the Mersey Valley including Sale Water Park, the River Irwell from the University of Salford to Clifton Country Park (a Site of Biological Importance for Goldeneye) & Heaton Park Reservoir
Good birding
James
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Never say never, Simon, how do you think all those other rarities get reported. If you ever see what you think is a rarity or something very unusual take field notes about everything you can, description, what you think is unusual, what you viewed it through, distance, light, other birds you can id nearby , other witnesses and photos if you can. That way you can make your report with some backup material to support your observations. You will of course get quizzed and even ridiculed by some birders but keep at it and don't give in. At the end of the day it only matters to you and those that keep lists- it is only birdwatching and nothing to get too upset about- unless you drive 500 miles to see something that is not what you expect.
Thanks for your reply. Your seeing goldeneye near Mersey Bank makes me doubt my judgement even more!However, as many pictures as I can find still have me thinking they were Barrows and my pal agrees. The flashes on the back were white on black and the face patch long rather than round.
If no one else sees and identifies them and I can't find the woman dog walker who took a picture then I accept we were probably wrong.
Simon, nothing is impossible, if not a little unlikely. Have a look on birdguides, there is a photo of two velvet scooter taken today ,19th,on a reservoir in Derbyshire, possibly the birds you saw. Both have white cheek flashes and may be confused as barrows.
12.15 on River Mersey below Mersey Bank football pitches, east of Parkway bridge. 2 males in mid river, diving and moving downstream. Identified from p.42/43 of Collins birdguide.Also witnessed by a dog walker who said she had seen them before. Definitely not goldeneye which I have seen on the Mersey before. Anybody else seen them?
