So it was nice and sunny today which allowed me to pop down to Killingworth Lake to see if I can catch the Goldeneyes displaying today since the last time I went, the weather was rather poor. This time round, I decided to bring the same long lens but with my Nikon D300 rather than the full frame for the extra reach but cropping was still needed.
As soon as I started walking around the lake, the white bodies of the Goldeneyes stood out from the Tufted Ducks and immediately I could see the males' courtship behaviours! This proved to be very exciting for me and is definitely the highlight of the year so far. I found that as I progressed with my knowledge of birds, I am beginning to demand more from the photography in the sense of capturing a particular bird's behaviour rather than just recording my sightings. I first encountered the Goldeneye unknowingly until TeeJay pointed it out in my other thread 'Father and Son Wildlife Adventures' early last year. Since then, I began researching more about the Goldeneye and other bird's behaviours and this year, the aim is to capture pictures which shows off a bird's characteristics which led me to begin with the Goldeneye, which I tried last week and failed to see any displays. So today was a special day for me.
First off, one of the male Goldeneyes that occupied the lake.
I found that the drake would raise its neck upwards and then bring it back down low to the water surface before arching his head backwards and kicking up water, making a splash to display to the female. Unfortunately, I was so excited that I zoomed in on the male excluding the female oops.
Competition for the females were fierce as the drakes clearly outnumbered the females on the lake.
Here is a shot of a single drake displaying to a female.
And maybe he has success as they swam closely together.
Else where on the lake, a Great Crested Grebe in Winter plumage is back on the lake, maybe the next 'project' could be photographing their courtship dance, as they breed often on the lake.
A Pochard preening
A Common Gull was by the bank
And a drake Goosander swam in the distance.
Finally, as we made it back to the car, a resident swan came to say goodbye, or maybe thinking that we have food.
I hope everyone enjoyed these photos as much as I did!
I had the same thought, myself, today (more of that later). They are fabulous birds and you've certainly caught their behaviour well.
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Nige Flickr
Very nice WE, nice to see the courtship pictures of the Goldeneyes.
Jim
My Pictures
My Fbook Group
Lovely set of photos W.E. it's a great time of year when the courtship displays are beginning; the Goldeneyes are amazing as they throw their heads back, shrug those shoulders and tip their bottoms up in the air - what athletes ! Should shortly be seeing the G.C. Grebes beginning their displays and the weed dance :)
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Regards, Hazel
Thanks for the kind words everyone!
Found a two more that I really liked.
This one is rather funny, as the Goldeneye appeared to have been displaying towards the Mallard, which got me thinking that as well as displaying for the female, the drakes might display to each other a bit like stags fighting for dominance I guess.