After hearing the Goldeneye ducks had begun their courtship rituals, last week I decided to spend a morning at Lake Shoreline in Mountain View to see for myself. While I observed a number of half-hearted courtship displays by the males, and a bit of bonding behavior between a few male/female pairs, I didn’t see any really flamboyant displays. Still, I managed to get some nice shots of Common and Barrow’s Goldeneyes going through their typical morning routines of feeding and preening. Oh, and the super-cooperative Lesser Yellowlegs was an added bonus.
Though I spent most of my time focussed on ducks, I could not resist this Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) when it came close and posed in the beautiful early-morning light.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x at 700mm, 1/1600 sec at f/5.6, ISO 800
A male Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) dries its feathers after preening.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x at 700mm, 1/2500 sec at f/5.6, ISO 800
A Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) drake dives for its breakfast on Lake Shoreline.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x at 700mm, 1/2500 sec at f/5.6, ISO 800
Having retrieved a clam from the lake bed, the Barrow's Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica), amazingly, will swallow it whole.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, EF500mm f/4L IS USM +2.0x at 1000mm, 1/2000 sec at f/10, ISO 800
