Seems like it is time again to bid the Goldeneyes farewell for the season. We all can sense spring is in the air and they have all abruptly left the local pond this week for their annual migration to the north. We may yet get a snow storm or two but the goldeneye migration is a natural calendar I can count on to tell me middle March is here.
nature has no boss 
The good news for you is that it means spring is coming. When I see the birds leaving it means winter is coming so it’s always a sad time.
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Hi Steve, well in essence we are lucky and the wintering over waterfowl leaving signals the return of many songbirds. A trade off so to speak.
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Our songbirds, not that we have many, arrive back shortly after the waterfowl.
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Hi Steve, Seems like all or none in that case but makes for a summer of abundant photo opportunities.
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Yeah pretty much. During the winter we have house finches, chickadees and house sparrows, that’s about it unless you count the crows and magpies.
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I hope they come through here!
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Hi Jane, they might be headed your way soon. Keep an eye out.
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Just beautiful.
BB
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Thanks, hope your day is going well.
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Beautiful!
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Thanks Laura.
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You’re welcome Mike!
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Thanks.
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Great shot, bird and water both. Sad to say goodbye to the wintering birds. Happy to hear the songs again.
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It is always interesting to see how different the sam eater can look from day to day. The blue sky sure made it nice that day for sure and it is nice to have gone out the door this morning to hear finches singing in the tree while on the way to work.
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I love how you use color to make nature more vivid, more than just a photograph…
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Thanks for the kind feedback t is really appreciated. We love sharing what we see out in the world and it hakes us happy that you enjoy it. Hope you are having a great day.
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What a gorgeous photo, Mike, the water is dreamy. Good news about spring’s eminent arrival. Hurray!
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A beautiful duck. I believe we see these ducks year round here in Alberta:)
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Hi, I really enjoy watching the Goldeneyes and their courting behavior. You are lucky to have them year round. Hope your day is going well.
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I’m not sure how south you are, but we (southern Alberta, Canada) have Goldeneyes almost all year round. (O yes, just saw the comment above) And just a few weeks ago, I saw the males show off their courting antics, highly amusing. Here’s the sequence in photos, if you’re interested.
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Hi we are in Colorado and like clockwork the Goldeneyes migrate north middle of March. Nice photos of their courtship rituals. I have posted a few similar in the past and really get a kick out of watching the males trying to impress the ladies on our local pond. It is something I ooh forward to in mid-Feburary and their coloration at that time is also amazing. Thanks for the link to your post and giving some feedback as well. Do you get to see the chicks in the spring. I have heard that a dominate female essentially takes over all the chicks on a given lake.
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I have not noticed their chicks or their change in color. In our neck of the woods (Calgary) every spring, birders converge in Fish Creek Provincial Park to see two Great Horned Owls nesting and giving birth to their owlets for the last few years. They are fantastic to watch.
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Hi Arti, we have also observed Great Horned Owls nesting an it is quite a joy. When they start to fledge and fly it even makes me nervous yet the parents are cool as cucumbers.
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