Drake Common Goldeneyes In Winter
When I took this photo of two drake Common Goldeneyes at Bear River MBR almost two years ago, I was laughing as I hit my shutter button. I couldn't help myself.
When I took this photo of two drake Common Goldeneyes at Bear River MBR almost two years ago, I was laughing as I hit my shutter button. I couldn't help myself.
It is almost the end of February and I'm wondering what happened to winter this year in the Salt Lake Valley. Has winter gone on walkabout? Where is the snow?
Today, I am sharing a simple photo of a drake Common Goldeneye coming in to land on my local pond early in the morning. I took this image a few days ago.
Three days ago, I found my first-of-season Common Goldeneye drake at my local pond. I didn't have my camera with me, so I wasn't able to photograph him.
On my last trip to Bear River MBR I saw and photographed a Goldeneye-Merganser showdown where the prize that was being fought over was a shiny shad.
Just a quick post this morning of a photo of a 1st winter Common Goldeneye drake with a crawdad in his bill at my neighborhood pond taken last year.
On this day two years ago, I photographed this immature male Common Goldeneye with a catfish at the pond in my neighborhood. It was a chilly, wintry afternoon.
I found my first of season Common Goldeneye near a stand of rushes while walking around a local pond after a light skiff of snow had fallen overnight.
Last week while going through photos I had taken last year I came across three drake Common Goldeneye close up photos that I wanted to share.
Two days ago I spent a lot of time focused on a first winter Common Goldeneye drake as he swam, foraged, and ate at an urban pond close to home.
As the tail end of 2021 comes to a close it seemed fitting that the last photo I took yesterday was the tail end of a Common Goldeneye on what might have been my last trip into the field this year.
I did get out to find and photograph birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA and then later in the morning I found more closer to home.
I spent a couple of hours yesterday photographing winter birds at Farmington Bay WMA and closer to home in the morning and afternoon.
Yesterday morning I took a series of a Common Goldeneye making waves as he landed in icy cold water in the marshes of Bear River MBR.
When I got back home and uploaded the images I took of the drake Common Goldeneye I could see that his bill had pigment issues and that it wasn't a white feather stuck on his bill.
I'm anxious to start photographing the ducks I see close to home during the winter here in the Salt Lake Valley and from what I understand a few Common Goldeneyes have shown up.
When the weather turns colder, the clouds gather, and the snow falls I still have plenty of birds to photograph here in northern Utah.
I found it interesting to see a first winter drake Common Goldeneye swimming with a first winter Common Merganser and decided to photograph them.
Yesterday afternoon I was thrilled to be able to photograph two adult drake Common Goldeneyes in a territorial dispute on a pond as they moved across my field of view.
I'm grateful when I can photograph a drake Common Goldeneye in flight during the "Golden Hour" or any other bird I see through my viewfinder.
Both of these drake Common Goldeneyes were photographed on January 7, 2018, but they don't look quite the same.
During the winter I'm able to see some of the ducks that I don't see during the breeding season here in northern Utah on the Jordan River including Common Goldeneyes.
Primarily I focused on a drake Common Goldeneye that was busy foraging for food and that kept diving under the surface of the water close enough to take frame filling images of him.
By sharing these photos today my intention is to show that there are times when photographic rules can be broken because the appeal of images or the lack of appeal is all about the individual tastes of the photographer taking the photos and those of the people that view them.
Snow and clouds are in the forecast for today and I have decided that today is the day for me to migrate On The Wing Photography over to the new server that I mentioned a while back.
I got lucky when a first winter drake Common Goldeneye flew towards me while coming in for a landing on the pond in sweet late afternoon light.
I like this image because I was able to capture the eye of this diving first winter drake Common Goldeneye just as it is about to go below the surface of the pond but I also like what is going on with the water in this frame too.
The drake Common Goldeneyes didn't have any physical contact that I could see because that often happens under the water but the drake in the back seemed intent on making the one in the front leave the area.
I only see Common Goldeneyes in northern Utah during their nonbreeding season because they breed well north of here so I get a touch excited when they show up at my local pond.
This first winter Common Goldeneye drake had no issues with getting close to me as I photographed it on a chilly December afternoon.