{"id":44864,"date":"2017-01-06T06:31:28","date_gmt":"2017-01-06T13:31:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=44864"},"modified":"2017-01-06T06:54:16","modified_gmt":"2017-01-06T13:54:16","slug":"my-half-baked-theory-regarding-the-mechanics-of-a-goldeneye-dive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/06\/my-half-baked-theory-regarding-the-mechanics-of-a-goldeneye-dive\/","title":{"rendered":"My Half-baked Theory Regarding The Mechanics Of A Goldeneye Dive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Occasionally the frozen moments in my photographs allow me to see something that really piques my curiosity. And makes me wonder about the relationships between natural selection, behaviors and structural adaptations. Some of my images of this diving male Common Goldeneye are a case in point.<\/p>\n

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\"common-goldeneye-4063-ron-dudley\"<\/p>\n

1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n

I photographed him three days ago at a pond near my home. Once again the light angle on his head wasn’t ideal so those gorgeous glossy greens are pretty muted but this series demonstrates something I’ve noticed multiple times when this species dives.<\/p>\n

The first six images in this post are sequential shots in a burst.<\/p>\n

Here the bird is just about to dive. They compress their feathers slightly just before diving and that was my cue to begin my burst. Notice the length of the tail, spread out and flattened on the water’s surface behind the duck.<\/p>\n

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\"common-goldeneye-4064-ron-dudley\"<\/p>\n

1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n

As he begins his dive the flattened tail has flexed down into the water and disappeared.<\/p>\n

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\"common-goldeneye-4065b-ron-dudley\"1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the\u00a0sharply flexed tail pushed down against the water…<\/p>\n

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\"common-goldeneye-4066-ron-dudley\"<\/p>\n

1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n

it raised the rear end of the bird and that\u00a0combined with the forward motion of the dive\u00a0changed the angle of his body and helped to propel him downward.<\/p>\n

Please notice the heavy\u00a0curtain of water that has been cohesively pulled upward by the raised tail. I’ll come back to that in a minute.<\/p>\n

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\"common-goldeneye-4067-ron-dudley\"<\/p>\n

1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the bird\u00a0begins to disappear\u00a0beneath the surface his angle is perfectly vertical and the splash minimal – technique that would make Greg Louganis proud.<\/p>\n

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\"common-goldeneye-4068-ron-dudley\"<\/p>\n

1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n

As we see from the splash this dive was\u00a0far from\u00a0a belly flop.<\/p>\n

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\"common-goldeneye-4081-ron-dudley\"<\/p>\n

1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two minutes later I photographed the same male goldeneye in another dive (this time he has an audience of gulls). Once again, notice the heavy wall of water brought up by the tail – almost identical to the water curtain in the first dive. This seems to happen every time they dive and that made me wonder if it’s by design with this species. Consider the following:<\/p>\n