Common goldeneyes are on the prowl. In icy waters near you, these ducks are cavorting and splashing in an odd courtship ritual. In the afterglow of Valentine’s Day, they are proof that cold weather doesn’t always put a chill on wildlife romance.
Winter is generally the off-season for breeding. Birds don’t even look the part. Many of our songbirds long ago have molted out of their flashy plumage into a drab winter phase. But ducks look sharp all winter. It’s part of the plan.
The drake (male) goldeneye is handsome in his tuxedo of black with white wing patches and clean white on breast and belly. He sports a green-glossed head with a white spot between his bill and brassy eyes. The hen has a brown head, a yellow-tipped bill, golden eyes and no face spots.
In the ocean off the New Hampshire coast, goldeneyes are now feeding on mussels, crustaceans and, occasionally, fish. They also gather in good numbers on any open water in Lake Champlain, probably adding aquatic insects to their winter diet. In spring, they leave us to breed across Canada’s boreal forest and in a few spots in some of our northern states. But before they leave, the foreplay begins.
The male does most of the strutting and gyrating. One of his signature moves is the “head-throw-kick.” He has two versions of this move: the “slow” head-throw-kick and the “fast” head-throw-kick. In any event, while paddling around females, he’ll first thrust his head forward so that his bill practically lies flat on the water; then he’ll whiplash his head backwards so that the nape of his neck touches his rump and his bill points skyward. He utters a weird, grating call, and like a slingshot released, he thrusts his head forward while kicking water outward with his feet. This is designed to be a major turn-on for a female, who will respond by thrusting her head upward or forward, among other moves. She tends to be quiet during the drama.
Common goldeneyes and other waterfowl have been at this in open water since December (some duck species start even earlier). It’s the avian equivalent of sizing up a date for a serious commitment. Biologists call it “pair bonding.” If it works out, the pair will migrate north toward breeding sites. But with ducks, the migration comes with no long-term commitment. After breeding, most male ducks abandon their mates, leaving the females to raise the ducklings on their own.
So courtship occursr each year on the waters of winter. Because they’ve split in the north, it would seem that males would court different females while here each winter. But that may not be the case. One of our most ornate duck species, the harlequin duck, breeds along arctic rivers, and winters near us along the New England coast. Researchers have determined that even though a male will abandon a female after breeding, the pair will meet again in the wintering area. There they will re-establish the pair bond, and then return to the previous season’s breeding site.
The researchers, based in British Columbia, where harlequin ducks also breed and spend the winter, reported that pairs reunite even if they failed in their earlier breeding. That would suggest meeting the same mate year after year offers certain benefits beyond assumptions of future offspring.
The female may simply be choosing to go with what she knows. Perhaps he has claim to some prime breeding territory. Or maybe she’d rather not risk ending up with a lower-quality male or even no male at all. Perhaps the hen figures that it is not worth the effort to find a new mate and fend off unwelcome advances from other males. By reuniting, the researchers suggested, “males and females are hedging against costs that could be incurred if they had to find a new mate.”
Other waterfowl show similar behavior, which suggests those common goldeneye now courting in New Hampshire and Vermont may simply be getting reacquainted.
Ducks aren’t the only birds that exhibit amorous behavior in February. Black-capped chickadees, northern cardinals, and house finches are among the songbirds that already have begun to sing. Sunlight is a trigger. Lengthening days can activate a male songbird’s hormones and start him singing in sub-zero temperatures.
He sings a Valentine to broadcast his presence to a female and delineate territory where they will raise young.