A male Barrow's goldeneye swims through golden water. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3: 1/1250 sec. at f/7.1
This week’s photo features a Barrow’s goldeneye. The Barrow’s is similar to the common goldeneye, but, as its counterpart’s name suggests, is less “common”. In fact, only a few are seen in the San Francisco Bay Area each winter, whereas the common goldeneye can number in the thousands (with dozens visible at one time).
While both male species look similar, the Barrow’s goldeneye has several distinguishing features. The two most prominent are an elongated teardrop shaped white area in front of the eye (the common has a smaller circular white patch) and a row of white squares across the base of the wings (which can be seen across the top of the back in the photo above).
When I found this male, I was lucky enough to find a female with him (which I assume made up a breeding pair).
A female Barrow's Goldeneye swims through a narrow water channel in the low light of a late winter afternoon. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3: 1/800 sec. at f/7.1
Female Barrow’s goldeneye look more similar to the female common goldeneye. The biggest difference is a completely yellow bill (as above), compared with a yellow-tipped black bill on the common. Other than that, they look identical (to my eye).
I saw this pair on several occasions, as they frequented the same spot for a couple of weeks at least. On one occasion, I began to worry for the female, because I saw the male swimming with a would-be harem of twelve female common goldeneyes. There were no male commons in sight. These two species have been known to crossbreed, but I’m not sure exactly what was going on in this situation. Perhaps it was because he was the only male of either species around, or perhaps it was just because he is much cooler looking with his bold white square pattern. The next time I saw them however, his lady was back at her top spot, and the other females has moved on to more common mates.
A male common goldeneye attempts to impress a female by lengthening his neck and extending his head. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3: 1/1600 sec. at f/7.1
Spring is almost here, and with it comes the showmanship and fortitude of male birds courting their females. Especially fun to watch are the common goldeneyes, with their neck stretches, head throws and incessant quacking – all in the pursuit of charming that special someone who, if the performance is good enough, might return the affection. I took all the shots seen here recently at Shoreline Lake in Mountain View, where a multitude of common goldeneye can be seen putting on their show. If you live nearby, I definitely recommend a trip there either in the early morning or late afternoon, when the birds are most active.
The common goldeneye courtship display consists of several different maneuvers. The most common move seems to be the neck stretch, which can be seen in the photo above, and the photo immediately following.
A male common goldeneye courts a female by extending his head out in front of him. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering 0: 1/800 sec. at f/8
If he wants to get a little flashier, he shoots his head straight up with a long neck and lets out a loud quack. Sometimes this first and second move are done in sequence, with the bird first poking his head out in front, and with the neck extended, swiveling it straight up to quack. This usually gets the ladies attention.
Getting a little flashier, he shoots his head straight up with a long neck and lets out a loud quack. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering 0: 1/1000 sec. at f/8
If that doesn’t quite do it, or the goldeneye is feeling particularly frisky, he pulls out the head tuck move. Here he folds himself backward in half, touches his head to his back and lets out a kind of double-quack. It seems as though the first quack actually comes in normal position, followed the the quick head throw and second quack up into the air. This second sound is louder and more drawn out than the first, kind of like putting the accent on the second syllable of a two-syllable word.
Here he touches the back of his head to his back and lets out a kind of double-quack. Sometimes this move is performed at high speed, as the male goes sailing past the female with his beak up in the air. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering 0: 1/800 sec. at f/8
Finally, if nothing else is working, the goldeneye busts out the uber-display. After performing the double-quack with his head tucked against his back, he forcefully kicks both feet backward, splashing water high into the air. I only saw this display a few times by only two birds – each of the other displays were more common.
After performing the double-quack with his head tucked against his back, he forcefully kicks both feet backward, splashing water high into the air. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering 0: 1/1000 sec. at f/8
If all goes well, he finally attracts his mate, who shows the love by mirroring some of his moves. In the following photo, the male is being followed by an interested female.
A male common goldeneye attempts to impress a female by lengthening his neck and extending his head. The female mimics the behavior in reply. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering 0: 1/2400 sec. at f/5.6
Courtship displays of different avian species can be fascinating to watch, and can get quite elaborate. Personally, I think I’ll stick to chocolate and flowers!
A pied-billed grebe sinks his head and fluffs his wing feathers in a display of courtship. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1: 1/320 sec. at f/8
A couple of weeks ago, I witnessed a pied-billed grebe courtship display for the first time. These tiny birds are already pretty darn cute – but when they are wooing each other, they seem even cuter.
Pied-billed grebe courtship behavior is much more varied and subtle than the extravagant display of other grebe species. It has been witnessed year round, not just during mating season (which this is not.) To impress a female, this male pied-billed grebe ruffled his feathers and sunk his head and neck down flat against his body.
Fluffed wing feathers, sunken head, and calling are all part of the pied-billed grebe's courtship display. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3: 1/400 sec. at f/8
Circling his object of desire, the grebe called out into the air. I photographed this grebe for a short time, until I finally took my eye away from the camera (sometimes photographers can get tunnel vision) to see who else was involved in this ritual. It turned out to be none other than…
A female ruddy duck sleeps as she floats through the water. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1: 1/320 sec. at f/8
A female ruddy duck! And a sleeping one at that. Apparently she was thoroughly unimpressed with the pied-billed grebes advances. I couldn’t help but feel bad for the little grebe. He was definitely barking up the wrong tree, and wasn’t going to get lucky any time soon.
A confused pied-billed grebe shows his courtship display as he swims circles around a sleeping (and unimpressed) female ruddy duck. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1: 1/200 sec. at f/8
Normally, the next stage in this ritual would be for the female to repeat the behaviors of the male, joining him in calling back and forth. Sometimes the female then flattens herself against the water in a submissive posture, while the male raises his head and neck in a dominant display, referred to as the “triumph ceremony”. However, in this poor grebe’s case, he wasn’t getting the response he desired. After circling the ruddy duck a while longer, he evidently realized his misfortune, packed it in, and swam away.
A male hooded merganser extends his crest as he swims through a wetland slough. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 1250. Evaluative metering +2/3: 1/320 sec. at f/5.6
I was lucky enough to find a pair of hooded merganser a few weeks ago at a local birding spot close to my house. While not uncommon to the area this time of year, they are usually seen in very small numbers – usually only in ones and twos. I found this attractive pair in a narrow channel that is usually very shallow, but had recently flooded, providing enough depth for these diving birds.
A female hooded merganser swims through still water, reflected in the early morning sunlight. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3: 1/125 sec. at f/5.6
As I approached, I crouched down and worked my way toward a large clump of tall grass along the channel that could provide some screening. I crept up behind the grass and set up, careful to work very slowly so as not to disturb the pair. The last thing I’d want is for them to fly somewhere else – they seemed to be set up in the perfect position for me. The rising sun was behind me, casting the birds in full frontal lighting, and the channel was narrow enough that the entire surface of the water reflected the straw colors of the opposite shore.
After I set up, I knelt behind my tripod in the mud and goose poop (I often wear knee pads when I expect to shoot at water level) and poked my lens through the grass. They seemed right at home with me there, giving me a full half hour with them as they swam back and forth in front of my camera.
A pair of hooded merganser swim together, reflected in the water. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 1000. Evaluative metering +1/3: 1/800 sec. at f/7.1
During courtship displays, the male fans his crest open, as seen in the first photo. The male seen here had a flat crest most of the time, only displaying his crest once to ward off a curious cormorant, and once while scratching the back of his head with his foot. The female seemed to display her crest most of the time I was watching them. The photo below shows the male with a flattened crest.
A male hooded merganser swims with a flattened crest. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1/3: 1/320 sec. at f/7.1
Like other mergansers, the hooded merganser has a long thin bill with serrated edges. This helps to grip fish and crustaceans when the birds dive underwater for them. Because of this trait, mergansers are often called “sawbills”. They are a somewhat secretive bird, nesting in small tree cavities hidden away from would-be predators. Hunting underwater by sight, they can actually change the refractive properties of their eyes in order to enhance their underwater vision.
Like other merganser, the hooded merganser has a long, serrated bill for gripping fish. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1: 1/1000 sec. at f/5.6
After a while, the mergansers decided they were done with this water channel and it was time to head off to more fertile fishing grounds. I was elated to have had that time with them, in such good photo conditions.
