Female Common Goldeneye

Females Common Goldeneye are very attractive, they have a warm brown head that contrasts nicely with gray body. 

Without a doubt, I wanted to show the beauty of this bird but despite this, I was probably more fascinated by the colorful reflections in the water. They created some kind of surreal beautiful background.

Generally, life is good.

Your Catch is Now Mine

 

Usually, Great Blue Herons do not steal fish from Goldeneyes, but in winter, when food is scarсe you don't distain anything. Within seconds, the fish was stolen from the Goldeneye and eaten by Great Blue.  This is survival!

Life goes on.

Puzzling Behavior

 

Last week watching and photographing Common Goldeneyes I was puzzled by their behavior. 

Among the Goldeneyes were constant fights over fish in the water but some of them managed to escape their attackers and carry their catch on the ice.  But for some reason they often left the fish there uneaten. Why?

The drake male Common Goldeneye examines its catch carefully.

At some point,  I was sure that the fish will be eaten but I was wrong.

Goldeneyes eat small fish.  Maybe this catch is too big for this drake or fish doesn't taste good.  

The catch remains on the ice, and the drake Goldeneye heads for the water to continue catching his fish and fighting for it.

By the way, fish that was caught in the water was eaten immediately.  Instinct not to lose the catch always took over.

Life goes on.

On Parade

 

The male Common Goldeneyes are paddling on evening parade.  Their spectators are a Herring Gull who is indifferent to what is happening in front of its eyes and I. 

Generally, life is good!

They Were Born with Wings

 

Tundra Swans. They carry the sky on their backs.

Mourning Doves.  Their feathers are bright but their songs are sad.

Northern Shoveler.  Proud and determined.

Female Common Goldeneye is landing.  

Generally, life is good!

Winter Ducks at the Great Salt Lake - II.

 

In winter the Great Salt Lake is a home for many different ducks.  It welcomes Green-winged Teals (above), Northern Pintails, Common Goldeneyes, Northern Shovelers, Mallards and others. 

Female Common Goldeneye is taking a flight.

To photograph ducks in flight is always challenging.  They take off from the water immediately, they are small and beat their wings fast.  But sometimes with a pinch of luck I am able to capture them in flight.

Female Common Goldeneye.  

Female has a chocolate brown head, gray back, wings and tail and a yellow tip on black bill.

Northern Shoveler. 

This duck was acting a little bit strange and at the beginning I thought that it was injured. 

The duck stayed motionless for a long time. Usually, when you approach a duck it swims away from you but this bird wasn't going to leave. 

Later I returned back to check on the duck and it was gone.

 

Ring-billed gull.  It decided to join the ducks but didn't stay with them and took off almost immediately after landing.

The Great Salt Lake is a unique place, it has a diverse ecosystem for migratory and breeding birds.

In 1843 the early explorer in the west John C. Fremont after visiting the Great Salt Lake wrote "the waterfowl made a noise like thunder… as the whole scene was animated with waterfowl."

It's different nowadays. The Great Salt Lake has changed drastically because of climate change and we probably never see the vast and impressive flocks of birds that Fremont did but there are still an incredible variety of waterfowl birds there.

Generally, life is good!