Goldeneyes

There are two types of Goldeneyes in abundance in the Northwest. The first, Common Goldeneye, I had a chance to see in Apopka in the Fall of 2005 in the form of a female that had wandered over to a retention pond to feed with some Hooded Mergansers. Many fellow birders were quite thrilled for this sudden, unexpected arrival. She stuck around for a month or so.

The second, Barrow's Goldeneye, were completely new to me. Only wish I could have gotten better shots than I did. Most were from very far away or from fast moving boats.

Here, a female Common Goldeneye floats on the waves.



I took the trip to the west to find the male Common Goldeneyes. We found many pairs throughout the Seattle area.



The first Barrow's were found from the boat trip we took around Bainbridge Island.



You can notice the more crescent-shaped white patch on the males of the Barrow's. Females of both species are nearly identical.



The best look I had of a pair were these two swimming in the calm waters around the boats docked at the John Wayne Marina.



Very pretty ducks. Hope I can find some on a nice calm lake some day.