Friday, March 4, 2016

Common Goldeneyes on the Bay

Had to be in Thornbury yesterday, so I dropped down to the mouth of the Beaver River to see what birds were about.  I usually see a few Mute Swans, some Canada Geese and at least a few ducks.  But there was very little yesterday.

It's always a nice view over the bay regardless of the birds of course, and this day there was a lot of ice floating by, carried downstream by the river.

I was just in time to see a small flock of ducks come flying down the river and land in the open water just offshore, but inshore of the ice pack.

I had actually come prepared with my binoculars and bird guide, and after watching a bit, I could identify these as Common Goldeneye.  The male in this photo, with a white side and small white spot on its head is easy to identify..

There was a cold breeze, so I did't stay for long, but I was astonished to see these ducks floating among the ice coming down the river, and then diving underwater for food!  A few seconds later and one of them would pop up again.  It all reminded me of how amazing feathers are for insultation!

Common Goldeneye are common winter residents around the Great Lakes, and in fact all across southern Canada.  They nest further north than here though, in the boreal forest, where they seek out cavities in trees for their nests.  So they are common here from October until April, and then largely disappear.  When they go 'south' for the winter, they only come this far, to enjoy the ice and snow!

The river mouth, with Blue Mountain in the distance.

I have re-activated my account with 'ebird Canada', a large database of electronic records of bird sightings.  In fact you can look up the records without having an account at all.  It tells me the seasonal pattern of bird sightings for my own county, and provides a map too.  I used to be fairly active as a birder, if never very good, and after Wednesday's incorrect identification of birds on my own blog, I'm inspired to get back into this a little - I need at least to get the ID right if I'm going to post bird pictures!.  We'll see if I find any interesting birds over the summer.

Linking to:

17 comments:

  1. Wonder why it's called blue mountain? Incredible colour for a mountain! The colour in the first shot is beautiful!

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  2. Nice to see you have goldeneyes; with the weather this winter we haven't seen any of the northern birds we used to see each winter.

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  3. Looks like a chilly day. You think those birds would have cold feet!

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  4. Goldeneye occur over here too during the winter months. In fact they were one of the birds that got me back to birdwatching after something of a lay off. Funny thing but I was wondering if you submitted records to an online birdwatch site when you posted some recent images. The nice thing about it is that even negative sightings are useful to their analysis of bird numbers.

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  5. Boulders, snow, floating ice, and sea water, all in one place, magical. Love the photos today.

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  6. That looks like such harsh country for birds. I feel sorry for their struggles. I also am a so/so bird identifier. I get them right mostly, but that is not good for data entry.

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  7. Now that looks a little cold for me LOL
    Glad to see the birds didn't mind !

    Have a good weekend

    All the best Jan

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  8. It does looks so nice the see the ice breaking up on the lake , I just remember it being so cold by the Georgian Bay in the winter. Nice pics though.

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  9. Lovely photos . I have seen these ducks on our river but never was able to get a photo as they took off all the time they seem very skittish at least the do in the river . I do bird counts in my yard and around our valley as well and ID for the St Thomas Field Naturalist Club . I have been a birder for years and just love it . Thanks for sharing , Have a good day !

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  10. Brrr! I think your pictures do look rather chilly, but I enjoyed them anyway. I love the numerous birds we have around here, and common goldeneyes are around here too. I don't know very many birds but follow a birding email list and see pictures all year round of different species of birds. :-)

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  11. The birds don't mind the water at all!

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  12. Hello, pretty views of the water and the Common Goldeneyes. They have been hiding from me, I hope to see them someday. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Enjoy and have a happy weekend!

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  13. Such beautiful pictures but it sure does look COLD.

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  14. Looks a lot more wintery where you are than here in Connecticut. Nice photos! I've been actively birding for 15 years now and still mess up some id's. When i'm not sure I get 2nd opinions on birdfrum or other birders.

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  15. Kudos to you for identifying the Common Goldeneye. Always keep your eyes peeled for a rare Barrow's Goldeneye at this time of year. It's rare but seems to show up somewhere in southern Ontario each winter.

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  16. Love the last shot. We have Mergansers hanging around all year, but in the last few weeks we've seen a pair paddling around and diving. Must be spring is on the way. - Margy

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  17. Beautiful photos of the water and ice - and the birds. Looks too cold for my taste though - but I enjoyed the lovely photos.

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