TOCKY and compact, but swift in flight, goldeneye ducks come to our shores for the winter. You can recognise) by his dark head, which can appear black, but actually has dark-green, iridescent plumage, interrupted by an oval blob of white between the bill and the eye. Females () are generally grey with a nut-brown-coloured head; both have bright-yellow, beady eyes. Some stay year round, breeding in a few locations in Scot-land, but most fly in from Scandinavia. Estuaries, reservoirs, ponds, rivers and the coast all suit them—wherever crayfish, snails, small fish, worms and insect nymphs can be plucked from the water.
In the spotlight
Jan 10, 2024
1 minute
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