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Birds and Habitats in the SBSG area.
Photographs and Information.

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Goldeneye

Drake Goldeneye, Redmires Res, 24 Feb 2002 - Richard Hill
Photograph Copyright © Richard Hill

Probably one of the best loved of our diving ducks is the Goldeneye. It is a passage and winter visitor to the area, with the main influx usually during October. It can be seen on most of our larger water bodies, although in varying numbers. Up to the early 1980's the most reliable site was undoubtedly Redmires where double figures were regular and a maximum count of 25 on 9th January 1984. This high count has never been surpassed and in fact, numbers at Redmires mysteriously declined thereafter until, in the late 1990's and early in the new millennium, 3 or 4 are more normal there. Elsewhere, however, RVCP now regularly holds the largest numbers, with double figure maxima in most winters, often more than twenty in the mid-winter months. Most birds have gone by the end of April, but one or two usually linger into May when the head-stretching and bubbling display can often be observed. Three females summered at RVCP [1] and Pebley Ponds [2] in 2001. The adult drake shown here was photographed by Richard Hill at Redmires on 24th February 2002. As the photographs below show, this bird was displaying to an out-of-shot female, with another male and female also present that day. Last updated 10th March 2002.

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