A few birds from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
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Common Goldeneye:Common Goldeneye Anarnilnguq or Anarnissakaq Once while canoeing with a friend on a clear water river near Marshall, I lifted my hand and whispered, “Listen! Do you hear that whistling sound? It’s the sound of a Common goldeneye flying over.” And I explained that’s why their scientific name is Bucephala clangula, meaning, “noisy-winged buffalo-head.” Both of its Yupik names, Anarnilnguq and Anarnissakaq, have a more pejorative meaning, however, relating to the digestive process of defecation. Perhaps because of the whistling noise made by the bird’s wings, it used to be considered a bad omen by many people on the Lower Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. And it could be that, since it was a bad omen, it was given these names. Bad omen or not, this little diving duck is a fascination for me, especially during its courting period in late winter and briefly when it arrives on its nesting ground in wooded areas near the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers. For it is then that it has one of the most spectacular courtship displays of any of its waterfowl relatives. While still in its winter habitat in the Lower 48, several males may court one female with displays that include throwing their heads back with bills pointed skyward while uttering a shrill double-noted call that goes zeee-zeee, and a harsh rattling rrrrt. They also pump their heads back and forth in a ritualized dancing motion, and take off and land in short frenzied flights that stir the water to a froth and spume that sparkles in the sunlight. Since most of their courtship takes place before they migrate north, when they finally arrive on their breeding ground in Alaska the ducks are a bonded pair and soon begin what they came this far for. But what takes place next is unique to this genus of Alaskan duck. The female finds a large cavity in a dead tree between 6-60 feet above the ground that she may actually have located the year before when she was only one year old. After lining the bottom of the nest with her own pure white down feathers she starts laying her eggs, which are olive to blue green in color and usually number between 5-19. If cavities are scarce in the area, she will often lay eggs in the nests of other females, so that in some cases there have been more than 30 eggs counted in one cavity nest. She may also lay her eggs in the nests of Barrow’s goldeneyes, and vice versa. Only the female broods the eggs, and it takes a month before all of the young hatch together. The ducklings remain in the nest for a day or two or until they are strong enough to climb to the nest hole and flutter to the ground, at which point they follow their mother to a nearby freshwater pond or lake. There she protects them but does not feed them, since they instinctively know that aquatic insects and their larvae are to be their main summer dish along with a vegetable side dish of water plants, such as pondweeds. Since they are diving ducks, they will later eat small fish, marine worms, crabs, shrimp and small mollusks, including blue mussels. Some mothers abandon their broods soon after hatching, and if this happens the young will join another mother’s brood. These mixed broods are called “crèches.” This may also occur after a territorial fight with another female and the ducklings are scattered. Not all of them get back to their real mother after the turf battle and they will join the brood of the territory owner. The surrogate mother doesn’t seem to mind, however, and the ducklings all remain together until they finally take their first flight two months later. A cool fact about Common goldeneyes is the color of their eyes. Although they are gray-brown at hatching, they turn purplish-blue, then blue, then greenish blue as they age. By five months of age they are a clear pale greenish yellow, and will finally become bright yellow in adult males and pale yellow to white in females. Other common names of this duck are: American goldeneye, brass-eye, brass-eyed whistler, bull-head, copper-head, cub-head, cur, European goldeneye, garrot, goldeneyed duck, great-head, iron-head, jingler, merry-wing, spirit duck, whiffler, whistle-duck, whistler, and whistle-wing.  |
