Hey Folks,

Guess who should be back tomorrow? Here’s a hint: you might get to see something besides birds on here real soon. Of course I’m writing this post 2 weeks in advance, so there’s a chance you might not, too. But by the time this goes online, I should be just about back from 2 weeks in ……?

I ain’t telling.

So here’s the male of the Barrow’s Goldeneye again. I liked this image because his bill is wide open and he’s looking at me. I had just moved slightly, where I was more visible to him, and it was as if the bird was saying ‘dude, I so TOTALLY see you’. This was one of the last images I made of this duck. What a cool bird.

Male Barrow’s Goldeneye, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

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Female Barrow’s Goldeneye, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska

Here’s the female of the 2 Barrow’s Goldeneye ducks I photographed recently. I couldn’t have asked for a more co-operative pair. They were surprisingly tolerant. I didn’t have a blind setup or anything, just slowly and gingerly made my way around the pond, through the woods, hid behind a small bush, and waited for a few hours, and they gradually started coming over my way from time to time, where I could get some images.

It’s wild to see the different between the male and the female of the species. The male of the species, in breeding plumage, is way sharper looking than the drab female. This is pretty common in numerous species, but particularly birds.

Female Barrow’s Goldeneye, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

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Male Barrow’s Goldeneye, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska

Here’s the best of the duck opportunities I had. The Barrow’s goldeneye.

A male and a female were hanging out at this small pond, and I spent a number of hours there trying to get some images. ducks spend a lot of time floating around on ponds with their head tucked under the wings sleeping. ‘Dabbler’s” they’re called – well these ducks did more sleeping than dabbling.