A Window into a Secret World

After a brief detour, I finally got back on track and followed the trail along the northern shore of the city. In the early part of the highly urbanized path, the ocean is not all that visible, but in the last half, the landscape sweeps clear onto the open ocean.

I was crossing a bridge over a pleasant clear stream that flowed into the ocean, when I spotted a Common Goldeneye duck, or possibly a Barrow’s Goldeneye. The two species are related, but the facial patch on this male was round and not crescent shaped. The wings also had a white jet streak instead of the more subtle marking of the Barrow’s Goldeneye. So, I’ll stick to the common variety, but I could be wrong.

As I photographed the views of the ocean and downtown in the distance, a flashing movement caught my eye. I saw a duck pop up to the surface and shake water off his head.

I thought it was a Barrow’s Goldeneye male duck at that moment, but further research later on led me to believe it was actually a Common Goldeneye. I see flocks of the former floating around the bay, where they forage underwater. They dive, disappear below the waves, come up, shake their heads off, and dive back into the mysterious depths of the ocean. It was a great experience seeing them through the clear water in the rippling depths.

According to the Audobon website, the Common Goldeneye duck migrates in fall and winter. Although, it seems the males don’t mind staying up in the north.

They are aggressive with each other and often lay their eggs (4-13) on another species’ nest. The opportunistic behaviour happens during breeding season between April and September when they lay one brood. To celebrate their devious deeds, they feast on insects, mollusks, crustaceans, fish, and plant matter (Bird, 2016).

As can be seen in the accompanying video, they’re expert divers who can hold their breaths for a little while. I have seen videos of birds diving but never seen the behaviour in the wild. This was such an unexpected find.