Common goldeneye
Bucephala clangula
L 13″ W 31″
Habitat: The breeding range of the common goldeneye generally coincides with the boreal coniferous forest in North America (Johnsgard 1975, Bellrose 1976). In a Minnesota study, 87 percent of breeding goldeneyes were found on large, sand-bottomed fish lakes (Johnson 1967), while in New Brunswick, this species preferred water areas with marshy shores and adjacent stands of old hardwoods (Carter 1958). In Maine, nests are found in mature hardwoods adjacent to lakes with rocky shores, hard bottoms, and clear water. Shoal waters less than 10 feet deep with an irregular shoreline provide brood shelter and protective vegetation necessary for duckling food (Gibbs 1961).
Nest: Common goldeneyes used and were more successful in open top or “bucket” cavities than in enclosed cavities in New Brunswick (Prince 1968). Most nests were in silver maples on wetter sites or American elms on drier sites and aspen in northern conifer forests. Nest trees averaged 23 inches in diameter with cavity dimensions of 8 inches in diameter and 18 inches deep; most entrances were 6 to 40 feet above ground (Prince 1968). Wooden nest boxes measuring 12 × 12 × 24 inches with elliptical entrances 3½ × 4½ inches were used extensively in Minnesota (Johnson 1967).
Food: Of 395 stomachs examined by Cottam (1939), crustaceans (32 percent), insects (28 percent), and molluscs (10 percent) were primary animal foods (total, 73.9 percent). Crabs, crayfish, amphipods, caddisfly larvae, water boatmen, naiads of dragonflies, damselflies, and mayflies were also found. Pondweed, wild celery, and seeds of pondweed and bulrushes were important plant materials.