You can post as many pictures as you can take. Show us more.
When you collect a branch, go ahead and photo the entire thing, and then do the closeups of various parts. It also helps sometimes to include something for scale in the image, like a coin or another common item which is recognizable.
Those buds really look like
Acer platanoides to me. Norway Maple buds are fat, usually greenish/purplish in winter, and have the large bud scales as seen in your photo.
Use a white background on the next go-round, too, so that the plant's colors are more prominent.
The big old tree (now gone, due to inconsiderate airport management) was a fine
Acer rubrum - which I provided for comparison to bark characteristics and habit.
If you wait around for the next flowering/fruiting period, you'll see the distinctive pairs of samaras - which is ANOTHER great way to separate different species of maple. The size of the seed and the angle between the two ends of the pair can be definitive.
Acer rubrum
Acer griseum
Acer henryi
Acer nipponicum
Acer triflorum
Acer truncatum ssp. mono
Acer truncatum '76150SD'
Acer truncatum 'XPL Red Leaf'
