Dick & Jean Hoffman - the local bird scene - 2005 Goldeneye

A handsome male in the open water, they often feed at the edge of the surrounding ice. Common Goldeneye were well represented at E. 72nd St. and sometimes close at hand for easy study. Later in the month their courtship displays will be worth watching.

This immature male shows signs of his adult plumage. These photos are from scanned images of the original slides and have not been altered other than to reduce their size. All photos copyright © 2005 Dick Hoffman, all rights reserved

In the winter female Common Goldeneyes normally have all dark bills, but the sought after Barrow's Goldeneye has a mostly yellow bill making the partly yellow bill of some Commons very eye-catching.