Species Spotlight- Common Goldeneye

Bucephala clangula

The common goldeneye is a medium-sized duck, named chiefly for its brilliant amber yellow eyes which, along with its dark green iridescent head, add a splash of color to the gloomy winter shades of the Northwest.

The common goldeneye is the more numerous of the two goldeneye species, often seen in small flocks but sometimes in large groups as well. These ducks are divers. Interestingly, when feeding, all the birds in one section of a flock may dive all at the same time. Fast in flight, their wings make a distinctive whistling sound, and hunters commonly refer to them as “whistlers.”

Winter is the best time for us North Americans to spot the common goldeneye; look for them in flocks on fairly large bodies of water; they’re commonly found in Puget Sound and on large rivers in Washington. Most goldeneyes spend the winter in areas of protected coastal waters, but you’ll still spot them on inland lakes as well. In fall they are late migrants, often passing through just as lakes are freezing for the winter.

Common Goldeneyes breed worldwide in northern boreal forests. They prefer clear water in small lakes and ponds that aren’t overwhelmed with vegetation and large populations of fish. Goldeneyes are cavity-nesting ducks and generally require forested habitat with mature trees, for suitable nesting cavities. During migration, goldeneyes stop on large lakes and rivers to feed while they move between breeding and wintering habitats.

The diet of the common goldeneye varies in location and from season to season. When breeding, they mostly eat aquatic insects and prefer ponds without a lot of insect-eating fish, so as to avoid competition for food. In winter, their main diet is mostly crayfish, crabs, shrimps, amphipods, mollusks, small fish, marine worms, frogs, and leeches. In the summer, they’ll eat insects and also some plant material.

Goldeneyes are aggressive and territorial; several males may compete for one female. In courtship, the male will perform elaborate courtship displays to attract a mate’s attention – throwing his head back, his bill pointed upward and blurting out a loud, shrill call; pumping his head; short flights with inflated takeoff and landing displays.

The female common goldeneye starts breeding at about two years of age, but younger females will start searching for the perfect future nest site in early summer. Females typically return to the areas where they hatched, and will often return to the same nesting site year after year. Pairs form in late winter or early spring.

Nest sites are commonly in large tree cavities. If nest sites are hard to come by, females may lay eggs in each other’s nests. The nest basically consists of an indentation in existing wood chips, leaves or material from a previous nest and lined with down. The female typically lays 7-10 eggs, which will incubate for about one month. After a week or two of incubation, the pair bond dissolves and the male begins his molt migration, which is usually a short distance and often to the north, to larger waters of lakes, bays and rivers. Males winter farther north than females, often as far north as there is open water. Goldeneyes leave for the breeding areas in late February.

The young leave the nest one to two days after hatching, and the female will lead them to areas with abundant food, and they will feed themselves. Females abandon the young before they can fly, usually at 5-6 weeks of age, sometimes earlier. The young fledge at 8-9 weeks old.

The population of the common goldeneyes appears stable, and numbers tend to increase in areas where nest boxes were used.

Common goldeneyes have recently started to take advantage of northern areas with industrial effluent discharge, which keeps the water from freezing in areas where it’d be typically frozen in the winter. This is of concern, since contamination from the effluent is highly possible. Another characteristic of common goldeneyes is their tendency to prefer acidified water. Many insects that are tolerant of the acidity provide plentiful prey, and since most fish cannot live in these environments, there’s less competition for food. Again, this is concerning, due to possible short- and long-term effects of toxins in those areas. This species is also vulnerable to logging and other habitat destruction that eliminate the natural cavities they use to nest in.

Did You Know? Hunters dubbed the common goldeneye the “whistler” for the distinctive whistling sound of its wings in flight. Cold weather accentuates the sound.

A female common goldeneye often lays eggs in other female’s nests, particularly in nest boxes. She may lay in the nests of other species of ducks as well. Common and Barrow’s goldeneyes lay in each other’s nests, and wood ducks and hooded mergansers often lay in goldeneye nests also.

Like wood ducks, common goldeneyes readily use nest boxes as a replacement for natural tree cavities, and some return to the same box year after year.

After the ducklings leave the nest, they’re able to feed themselves and need only protection from their mother. Some females abandon their broods soon after hatching, and the young will join another female’s brood. These mixed broods, known as “creches,” may also occur if a female loses some of her young after a territorial fight with another female. Young scatter in all directions when females fight, and not all of them make it back to mom after the fight ends.

In winter and early spring, male Common Goldeneyes perform a complex series of courtship displays that includes up to 14 moves with names like “masthead,” “bowsprit,” and “head throw kick,” where the male bends his head back to touch his rump, then thrusts forward and kicks up water with his feet.

The oldest known Common Goldeneye was a male, older than 20 years! He was banded and found in Minnesota.

-Victoria Haugen, Board Member

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