Awesome decoy. Diagnostic Characteristics See Tobish (1987) for details on identification of Barrow's and Common Goldeneyes in all plumages. The bill is black and the legs and feet are yellowish. The common goldeneye, like the Barrow's goldeneye, is named for its brilliant yellow iris. Female common goldeneyes have chocolate brown heads, a whitish neckband, and speckled gray back and sides. In recent years, between 85,000 and 90,000 goldeneyes (both Common and Barrow Goldeneye species combined) have been shot by hunters annually. SCHEELS offers the best selection of hunting decoys and accessories to enhance your hunting expertise. View more species in our Waterfowl ID gallery. The bill is fleshy-yellow with a blackish basal area and nail. The breast, sides, belly and patch across the secondaries and secondary wing coverts are white. Landing adult drake Common Goldeneye – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light. No need to register, buy now! This area may be one the best kept secrets when it comes to waterfowl and upland bird hunts. View more species in our Waterfowl ID gallery. The female has a chocolate brown head with the same bright eye that gives this species its name. Male common goldeneyes have blackish iridescent green heads with a white circular patch between the eye and the base of the bill. Standard Goldeneye, Foam Filled, All Drakes ... Standard size decoys are slightly undersized from an average live duck, and are perfect for hunters looking for lightweight, packable, affordable decoys. Duck hunting Montana winter time. Duck hunting Montana Puddle Jumping!! Exceptionally Realistic Hunting Decoys. Common Goldeneye: Medium diving duck, white-striped black upperparts, white underparts. Nests are usually located near a pond, lake or river, but may be found in woodlands up to a mile from water. Its forehead slopes into its bill, which often is punctuated with a yellow tip. With prime habitat for these birds, this outfitter offers excellent waterfowl hunting with a 3 bird per day limit. 2016, Birds of Montana. They are cavity nesters and have a strong homing tendency, often using the same cavity in successive years. Female common goldeneyes nest in natural tree cavities, abandoned woodpecker holes or nest boxes and lay an average of 9 eggs. The dark back contrasts with the white neck, breast and belly. Huge collection, amazing choice, 100+ million high quality, affordable RF and RM images. Barrow's goldeneyes nest in wooded or open country, near a lake or pond surrounded by dense vegetation, usually in a natural tree cavity, abandoned woodpecker hole, nest box, rock cavity or stream bank. While walking these woods you frequently find buck rubs and scrapes, game trails from all directions, turkey scratching’s lining the river banks and are always reminded of the waterfowl potential from the sounds of flying birds overhead. One thing I must mention is cooking the bird rare to medium rare helps keeping the duck (or any duck for that matter) from becoming too gamey. Waterfowl Hunt in Montana . These distinctively shaped, large-headed ducks dive for their food, eating mostly aquatic invertebrates and fish. North-East Montana may be the best kept secret in the upland bird and waterfowl hunting world. The Common Goldeneye on the other hand, is a much more common duck. The scapulars are black with a distinctive row of rectangular white spots. They tend not to mix freely with other waterfowl. Find the perfect common goldeneye duck stock photo. Fast in flight, their wings make a whistling sound, earning them the hunters' name of "Whistler." Common Goldeneye are not on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List. The white greater coverts are tipped with black, forming a black band between the white speculum and the white patch on the greater coverts. Male common goldeneyes have blackish iridescent green heads with a white circular patch between the eye and the base of the bill. Decoy Spread really worked out this time. The female Barrow's goldeneye has a dark chocolate-brown head with a narrow whitish collar. The bill is blackish, becoming yellow near the tip, and the legs and feet are yellowish. There is a large variety of species including: Black, White Wing, and Surf Scoters, Harlequin, Old Squaw, Common and Barrow's Goldeneye, Red Breasted and Common Merganser, Bufflehead, Bluebill, Mallards and many other puddle ducks early in the season. The remaining Barrow's goldeneyes reside in pockets on the Atlantic coasts of Canada and the extreme north eastern coast of the United States. In flight, a Barrow's goldeneye is difficult to distinguish from a common goldeneye. Barrow's Goldeneye Bucephala islandica Potential Species of Concern. Avery GHG Over-Sized Goldeneye Floaters - 6pk - 73047 Avery Outdoors $57.99 Retail Price: $59.99 Vintage Papermache Factory Duck Decoy - Victor Veri-Lite Goldeneye c1946. Its cousin, the Barrow’s goldeneye, does nest here along rivers and lakes throughout much of southwestern Montana, especially in the Beaverhead Drainage, the Three Forks area, and along the Yellowstone River. When feeding, all the birds in one section of a flock may dive at the same time. Like other cavity-nesting birds, Common Goldeneyes depend on forestry practices that retain dead trees on the landscape. Legs and feet are yellow. This waterfowl hunt takes place in North-East Montana. The St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes also provide wintering habitat. The Golden eye waterfowl retreat borders the S. Platte and the Goldeneye State Wildlife Management Area and looks, feels and hunts much bigger than it is. I’m anxious to start photographing the ducks I see close to home during the winter here in the Salt Lake Valley and from what I … The back and sides are dapple-gray and the chest, breast and belly are white. The common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes.Its closest relative is the similar Barrow's goldeneye. ... -necked Duck, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Harlequin Duck, Oldsquaw, White-winged Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Barrow's Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, and the Ruddy Duck all call Montana home. Along coastal wintering grounds they feed largely on crustaceans, mollusks, small fishes and some plant material. They often nest in the same area in successive years, and females lay an average of 6-12 eggs. The back, rump and upper tail coverts are black and the tail is grayish-brown. It was more filet mignon (texturally that is) than it was New York strip which I find more common with other ducks. They often nest in the same area in successive years, and fe… In these cases, hunters are required to surrender any Barrow’s Goldeneye killed incidentally to legal waterfowl hunting activities. Look For The common goldeneye is a medium-sized, large-headed diving duck with a spectacular eponymous yellow eye visible even from a considerable distance. Some may move from the interior to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and south along the Mississippi and Snake rivers. Male Common Goldeneye partially submerged – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light This image and the following one were taken as the Common Goldeneye came up from a dive, I like how the water covers the duck and how the head has a sheet of water over it. Common goldeneyes use brackish estuarine and saltwater bays and deep freshwater habitats in the winter and dive to feed on a wide variety of available animal life. MONTANA DECOYS Goldeneye Duck Decoy SIGNED by KEN MARSHALL. It is also one of the last of the diver ducks to migrate south each fall and can normally be found late season on the rivers and larger bodies of water that stay open till the very end of the hunting season. The wintering populations of the common goldeneyes along the Chesapeake Bay and in Maryland have been decreasing steadily since the 1980s. The male Common Goldeneye adds a bright note to winter days with its radiant amber eye, glistening green-black head, and crisp black-and-white body and wings. American Wigeon Mareca americana. The bird must be surrendered to the Department within one month of when it was shot by contacting a local game warden or calling the Wildlife Division in Bangor at (207) 941-4466 to coordinate a pick-up. It can be found on many large, deep bodies of water as well as along many rivers and streams and on both coasts. This is by far the more numerous of the two goldeneye species, often seen in small flocks, sometimes in large concentrations. Swift, direct flight. Head is iridescent green-black with white circular patch between yellow eyes and dark gray bill. Common goldeneyes breed across the forested areas of Canada, Minnesota, Michigan, Alaska and the northeastern United States. Blue-winged Teal Spatula discors. Along the Atlantic coast, birds winter from Newfoundland to Florida and on the Pacific coast from the Aleutian Chain south to California. Montana Field Guide contains a wealth of information about Montana's diverse species. Vintage papermache drake goldeneye duck decoy made by the Victor Animal Trap Company of Lititz. PA … One note I did notice was that texturally this goldeneye was softer than other ducks. waterfowl taxidermy by artistic compositions - 1998 National Champion and a number of other waterfowl taxidermy awards,, duck taxidermy,, goose taxidermy, upland taxidermy, bird taxidermy, taxidermist, waterfowl taxidermist, duck mounts, habitat scenes Two common goldeneye ducks swim in an icy Yellowstone River next to Coulson Park in Billings shortly before sunset on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020. Black Scoter Melanitta americana. Barrow's goldeneyes nest in wooded or open country, near a lake or pond surrounded by dense vegetation, usually in a natural tree cavity, abandoned woodpecker hole, nest box, rock cavity or stream bank. Ninety percent of the Barrow's goldeneye population breeds and winters in North America from Alaska to the central United States staying west of the Rocky Mountains. Barrow's goldeneyes breed in southeastern Alaska, northern Mackenzie and northwestern British Columbia, south to eastern Washington, southwestern Oregon, eastern California, the Colorado Rockies, Quebec, Labrador, Greenland and Iceland. The common goldeneye, like the Barrow's goldeneye, is named for its brilliant yellow iris. The two goldeneye species—common and Barrow’s—are stocky, midsize ducks with bright white bodies; tall, dark, peaked heads; ... Common Merganser (“Fish Duck”) Of Montana’s three mergansers—common, hooded, and red-breasted—the most frequently seen is the common. In winter, Barrow's goldeneyes are often observed in large flocks on lakes, rivers, estuaries and bays from southern Alaska south along the west coast of the United States to central California; locally from southern British Columbia and northern Montana to northern Nevada, Utah, and Colorado and from the Gulf of St. Lawrence south to New York, rarely to South Carolina. 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