Strike Three

So, Thursday after work I stopped by Peace Valley and there were tens of thousands of geese on the lake, but I didn't have my scope. Friday morning I stopped by on my way to work with my scope, but didn't have time to scope the whole lake...the Barnacle Goose was seen later in the morning near the dam, which was 1/4 mile from where I was looking. This morning I got to the park at 9am, and a bunch of birders were leaving. They had seen the bird down near the dam, so I drove around to a better vantage point. While I'm doing so, a large group of geese flew out...including the Barnacle Goose. I also missed a Snow Goose, a couple of Greater White-fronted Goose, and a couple Cackling Goose. Did see a nice adult Bald Eagle fly over the lake, and yesterday I did see three Iceland Gulls and some good ducks, but no consolation prize for missing the Barnacle Goose three times now. My problem is I've been breaking all the birdchasing rules, which are:

1) Follow your intuition...as stated in my earlier post, I didn't follow up immediately on my impression that there was a Barnacle Goose in that flock.
2) When you hear about a rare bird, chase it immediately. This morning I had family stuff to do for a couple hours and it cost me the bird...at least temporarily.
3) Give yourself enough time to find the bird and give it as much time as it takes. My last two trips to the lake were quickies...not nearly enough time to find one lone rare goose in a flock that numbers in the tens of thousands.

So, this afternoon, I'll be back. Hoping the bird flies back in and that I'll have enough time to find it before it gets dark. It has been nice to get to know Peace Valley better, and I'm sure there will be lots of good birds and birding to be had their in the future.