This male Common Goldeneye duck is fishing alone at the bubbling mouth of Patten Stream on Wednesday, March 27. He appeared to be diving after the Glass Eel Elvers that are migrating up the stream now. See prior post.
Common Goldeneyes are informally known as “Whistlers,” due to the sound that their short, fast-beating wings make when they take off. And, when they do take off, they’re unlike other water fowl: they take only two or three steps on the water and then burst into the air; their zero-to-60 ability is phenomenal.
They also are the only North American duck that can survive in acidified lakes that contain no fish. They can digest the acidified insects and other small wildlife that also survive there.
(Surry, Maine)