Yesterday, my girlfriend and I took a trip down to Cambridge to try for at
least a life bird duofecta in the Tufted Duck and Barrow's Goldeneye.
Although the Tufted Duck eventually moved in from the channel to within 15
feet of the shore at Great Marsh Park (end of Somerset Rd), the now well
reported ice stymied our efforts to definitively see either of the now two
reported Barrow's Goldeneyes.

Of about 20 female Goldeneyes we saw on this section of river, three came
close to shore inside the marina in front of the red-roofed Gas House early
in the morning, and one dove off shore at Great Marsh Park. The vast
majority stayed far out in the channel with details well obscured by the
heat shimmer off the ice.

As a suggestion as these birds (and probably the ice as well) persists:
Towards the end of the day, even though much of the ice had broken up around
the channel, we walked out on the old river bridge/fishing pier to get
closer to the female goldeneyes, still mostly confined to the channel. This
vantage point provided MUCH closer inspection of the birds out in the middle
of the river in front of the marina, as well as downriver (where by this
time of the afternoon, many goldeneye had moved). Although it is a bit of a
gull graveyard, this fishing pier may be a good place search from if the
birds stay out of range of the on-shore locations.

For out-of-towners checking this list and thinking about coming in to look
for this bird, a drive back can be especially long, and considering how many
good birds could be rounded up in Ocean City and Blackwater with a few extra
hours, I wanted to add one more to the list of Cambridge birder-endorsed
businesses. Killarney B&B is very close to the Marina, is very reasonable in
the off-season, and caters to hunters/birders (from past experience) with
early hours.

-- 
Alex Baish
Ijamsville, MD (home)
Baltimore, MD (work/school)