Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)

A medium sized, migratory duck which can be seen around Montreal during the winter months in open water. Common Goldeneye dive for food. They build their nest in tree cavities.

🇫🇷	Garrot à œil d'or
🇩🇪	Schellente
🇲🇽	Porrón osculado

Taxonomy

Order	Anseriformes
Family	Anatidae

ID and Whereabouts

I look at the color pattern of male, greenish black head with a white spot near the beak, and female, brown head, and the characteristic yellow ring around the eye to identify this bird.

I see them in small flocks in Rapids Park Lachine in the river during winter months only.

Location	Spring	Summer	Autumn	Winter
Parc de la Frayère	x	-	-	x
Parc des Rapides	-	-	-	x

"x" indicates the species was observed, while "-" indicates no observation. Lack of observation doesn't necessarily imply that the species is absent. Data is derived from our park visit journals.