![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/common-goldeneye-3755b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"common-goldeneye-3755b-ron-dudley.\\"")
<\/p>\nMy most interesting Common Goldeneye photos so far this year, thanks in part to the early courtship behavior of the species.<\/p>\n
Yesterday afternoon after being cooped up in the house by a morning snowstorm I impulsively visited one of the local ponds I haunt in winter to see if I could turn up any interesting birds. It was about 40\u00b0 and the wind was blowing so I figured it would be a quick and unsuccessful trip. Mostly I just wanted to get out of the house.<\/p>\n
I should have dressed for the cold.<\/p>\n
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In addition to the omnipresent domestic Mallards and coots and a few Canada Geese I was pleasantly surprised to find several Common Goldeneyes on the pond and a couple of the males came in reasonably close. The biting wind made the water a little choppy but in the right conditions I think rough water can add interest to my photos.<\/p>\n
The males were in their spiffy fresh plumage so their whites were intense, which in combination with their blacks made for a difficult exposure. I did the best I could.<\/p>\n
I caught this adult male in a wing flap that included…<\/p>\n
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most of the possible wing positions including…<\/p>\n
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an intermediate one. In this shot I like the near peekaboo effect despite his partially closed nictitating membrane.<\/p>\n
Did you notice anything slightly unusual about this bird? The bills of adult male Common Goldeneyes are normally solid blue\/black but this guy…<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/common-goldeneye-3675-big-crop-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"common-goldeneye-3675-big-crop-ron-dudley\\"")
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appears to have some kind of pigment problem on the dorsal surface of his upper mandible.<\/p>\n
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This is a grab shot of a different male coming in for a landing. It’s a large crop and it shows but I was still pleased to get a sharp landing shot of one of these speedy ducks.<\/p>\n
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In Common Goldeneyes breeding behavior begins in December and this guy didn’t want to be left behind. There were a few females on the pond and here he’s performing the classic courtship display of the species called a “head-throw”.<\/p>\n
When I processed this photo I thought the shape of the tip of his bill looked a little strange so I investigated by cropping in tightly on his head.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/common-goldeneye-3662-big-crop-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"common-goldeneye-3662-big-crop-ron-dudley\\"")
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It turns out that he was sticking his tongue out which distorted my perception of his bill tip. I had no idea drake Common Goldeneyes have black tongues.<\/p>\n
Addendum: I may be wrong\u00a0 – he may just have a black feather in his bill. But in the next photo his tongue still appears to be black.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is probably my favorite photo of him performing a wing flap. I like the texture of his ruffled wing feathers and his open bill.<\/p>\n I didn’t stay at the pond for long, with that wind it was just too damn cold. Walking into my toasty house never felt so good.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Image techs for most of these photos were at or near 1\/6400, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My most interesting Common Goldeneye photos so far this year, thanks in part to the early courtship behavior of the species.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/common-goldeneye-3720-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"common-goldeneye-3720-ron-dudley.\\"")
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