Common
Goldeneye, Bucephala clangula
Above, an adult male; below, a first-winter male, with dark smudging on the white cheek patch and on the flanks.
Above, an adult female; below a first-winter bird, with the bill all dark and the iris a duller yellow.
Displaying male, showing underwing white secondaries, above, and overwing white secondaries and coverts, below.
Males displaying during courtship, rearing up and flapping, above, and approaching low in the
water, a regular form of display, below.
Above, female landing.
Like most ducks, Common Goldeneye form their pair bonds shortly after reaching their wintering grounds, see above and below, in November.
Above, a Common Goldeneye female with a male Barrow's Goldeneye, with the crescent shaped cheek patch. Barrow's are uncommon in our area, with usually one or two pairs on Shoreline Lake, Mountain View, where Commons can number fifty. Below, a small flock of Commons, five males and a female.
