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.

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