{"id":50839,"date":"2018-02-03T05:16:56","date_gmt":"2018-02-03T12:16:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=50839"},"modified":"2025-09-13T17:55:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T22:55:21","slug":"drake-common-goldeneye-courtship-display-in-low-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/02\/03\/drake-common-goldeneye-courtship-display-in-low-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Drake Common Goldeneye Courtship Display in Low Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DrakeDrake Common Goldeneye courtship display – Head-throw – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

One year ago today the light was low and dreary because of clouds hanging over the Salt Lake Valley but I had cabin fever and had to get outside so I went to see what was happening at the local pond. There were plenty of ducks on the water that day and among them were several Common Goldeneyes.<\/p>\n

I’ve noticed that the wild ducks, and by wild I mean species other than mallards, will come closer to me when the light is awful, I wish I knew why they don’t normally approach as closely when the light is much better, I guess it could have something to do with hunting season though. I’m glad they come close any time but prefer it when the light is better than it was a year ago today.<\/p>\n

When I noticed a drake Common Goldeneye assume a Head-forward posture I aimed my lens at him because I knew that was part of this species courtship display and even though the light was low I wanted to photograph some of the courtship behavior. Because I had noticed the Common Goldeneye drake’s behavior I was able to photograph him as he assumed the Head-throw posture.<\/p>\n

Oh, how I wish the light had been better that day to pick up more of the dark green iridescence on his head, I had to tease the greens to show when I processed this image by lightening up some of the shadows. If the sun had been shining the greens on this drake’s head would have positively glowed.<\/p>\n

The Common Goldeneyes that had been at the pond in December and January this winter have all but disappeared now and I had really hoped that they would continue to hang around a bit longer so I could have another chance at photographing the drakes up close while they performed their courtship displays. Who knows though, maybe a few will return to the pond before they head to their breeding grounds. You just never know what will turn up.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Common Goldeneye photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Because I had noticed the Common Goldeneye drake’s behavior I was able to photograph him as he assumed the Head-throw posture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":155863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,962,709,26],"tags":[4004,4238,4520,3535,2158,779,4711,4483,1129,126,6348,5586,6349,156,4062,8018,2063,373],"class_list":["post-50839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-common-goldeneyes","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-bucephala-clangula","tag-common-goldeneye","tag-courtship-behavior","tag-courtship-display","tag-displaying","tag-diving-duck","tag-drake","tag-duck","tag-ducks-2","tag-goldeneye","tag-goldeneyes","tag-head-throw","tag-low-light-2","tag-male","tag-urban","tag-waterfowl","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/common-goldeneye-male-displaying-mia-mcpherson-2372.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-ddZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44217,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/01\/04\/common-goldeneyes-have-started-their-courtship-displays\/","url_meta":{"origin":50839,"position":0},"title":"Common Goldeneyes Have Started Their Courtship Displays","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm seeing plenty of goldeneyes around right now and I have also begun to see the male Common Goldeneyes performing their courtship displays.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Alert male Common Goldeneye in breeding plumage, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/common-goldeneye-male-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-2517.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/common-goldeneye-male-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-2517.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/common-goldeneye-male-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-2517.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/common-goldeneye-male-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-2517.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49905,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/12\/15\/focusing-on-male-common-goldeneyes\/","url_meta":{"origin":50839,"position":1},"title":"Focusing On Male Common Goldeneyes","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent fifty-five minutes primarily focusing on male Common Goldeneyes yesterday afternoon and I am very happy with the images I took of these beautiful diving ducks.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Common Goldeneye flapping his wings, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/common-goldeneye-male-flapping-mia-mcpherson-3991.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/common-goldeneye-male-flapping-mia-mcpherson-3991.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/common-goldeneye-male-flapping-mia-mcpherson-3991.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/common-goldeneye-male-flapping-mia-mcpherson-3991.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":108781,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/16\/immature-male-common-goldeneye-and-catfish\/","url_meta":{"origin":50839,"position":2},"title":"Immature Male Common Goldeneye And Catfish","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"On this day two years ago, I photographed this immature male Common Goldeneye with a catfish at the pond in my neighborhood. It was a chilly, wintry afternoon.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature male Common Goldeneye with a catfish, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/common-goldeneye-drake-young-catfish-mia-mcpherson-1547.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/common-goldeneye-drake-young-catfish-mia-mcpherson-1547.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/common-goldeneye-drake-young-catfish-mia-mcpherson-1547.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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