Courting Goldeneye Drake

by Judi Dressler

Title

Courting Goldeneye Drake

Artist

Judi Dressler

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

It was mid-20s cold in January, and I was freezing, but the Goldeneye drakes were feeling hot! This male duck was courting a nearby female in a quite dramatic manner, with a head-throw-kick. This is a ritualized behavior— other Goldeneye males perform the same display that is hard-wired into their genetic makeup. Amazing to watch!

From Cornell Labs' website: "The male Common Goldeneye adds a bright note to winter days with its radiant amber eye, glistening green-black head, and crisp black-and-white body and wings. The female has a chocolate brown head with the same bright eye that gives this species its name. These distinctively shaped, large-headed ducks dive for their food, eating mostly aquatic invertebrates and fish. They nest in tree cavities in the boreal forest of Canada and Alaska; look for them on large rivers, lakes, and Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts in winter."

Photo taken on January 29th, 2018, in Lakewood, Colorado

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Descriptive tags and keywords for this image include goldeneyes, goldeneye, golden eye, golden eyes, drakes, ducks, courting, courtship, head throw, kick, mating, behavior, feeling hot, lake, pond, winter, water, calling, swimming, colorado, january, wild, wildlife, bucephala, bucephala clangula, photo, photography, photograph, judi dressler, and dressler.

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January 31st, 2018

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