This is a Barrow’s Goldeneye. Beautiful.
In a duck sort of way. Interesting too.
What’s interesting? Well monogamy. But with a twist.
It all starts in Canada or Alaska in the spring. A young couple will pair up for the first time. The male will stick around a while to protect their territory and nest. But when summer comes he takes off. All the males do. To somewhere secret and mysterious.
A very quiet and reedy pond. With places to hide. You can hardly blame him. He needs to molt. They all do. Whether or not they’re embarrassed to be seen without those striking feathers I can’t say. But it is a fact they won’t be able to fly for a few weeks. So they lay low.
Once that’s over they meet at a staging area and all migrate south together for winter (which is how I saw them on the Columbia).
And finally here’s the interesting part. The next spring--despite being apart all that time—that same male and female hook up for another go round. Then so on and so forth. Every year.
Kind of sweet. And just goes to show long distance romances can work.
For ducks. :)
Distinguishing marks: Males--black and white with a purple sheen on their head in the right light. Graceful white spots on their backs and a single white quotation mark in front of their golden eye. Females are brown with a dark brown head and the beautiful golden eye.
