style="font-size:15px;"> ORIGIN OF NAMES “Bufflehead” derives from Fr. buffle, buffalo, referring to this species’ large head; bucephala from Gr. bous, ox or bull, and kephale, head; L. albus, white.
NATURAL HISTORY The rounded heads of these dapper little ducks reminded early ornithologists of a buffalo’s profile, hence the name Bufflehead. At a distance males look black and white, but close views reveal a bright purple and green iridescence on their heads. They sit buoyantly high on the water and can fly up directly from the surface rather than having to skitter across the water to gain speed like most diving ducks. Buffleheads fly rapidly, flashing white patches on their whirring wings. Much like their close relatives, the Goldeneyes, they dive for small fishes or search the bottom oozes for shellfish, aquatic insects, and other prey; less commonly they feed at the surface like puddle ducks.
Most of California’s Bufflehead population breeds in forested mountain lakes of the Cascades and farther north, but recently they have been confirmed nesting in the Sierra. In April, drakes begin to actively court females and threaten other males by swimming at them with heads lowered and wings flapping. Unlike most ducks, Bufflehead pairs usually remain together for years. Their preferred breeding habitats are small ponds lined by conifers or aspens. Similar to Wood Ducks, they nest in tree cavities, usually larger ones excavated by Northern Flickers or Pileated Woodpeckers. Other cavity-nesting birds such as Western Bluebirds and European Starlings are considered competitors for suitable nest sites. Breeding activities begin in early May, and peak nesting extends from mid-May until late July. Females line their nest holes with down and feathers before laying eggs; the young remain in the nest for about a day before jumping to the ground and joining the hen on the nearest water and become independent after about 50 days.
STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION Similar to Ring-necked Ducks and Hooded Mergansers, Buffleheads are primarily boreal ducks that have recently extended their breeding range southward into the Sierra.
West Side. Uncommon breeders; prior to the mid-1990s, Sierra nesting confirmed only at Lake Almanor and near Buck’s Lake; recent observations have confirmed localized nesting at secluded, tree-lined lakes in Sierra, El Dorado, Placer, and Alpine Counties—most of these localities are above 6,500 feet; fairly common winter visitors and spring and fall migrants to deeper reservoirs, lakes, and ponds, mostly in the foothills below about 3,000 feet in the central Sierra.
East Side. Recent breeding confirmed in Sierra, El Dorado, Alpine, and Inyo Counties; fairly common spring and fall migrants and winter visitors to larger lakes and reservoirs.
Common Goldeneye
Bucephala clangula
ORIGIN OF NAMES “Goldeneye” for the species’ bright golden eyes; clangula, the diminutive form of L. clangor, noise, a reference to the whistling sounds of the species’ rapid wingbeats.
NATURAL HISTORY Common Goldeneyes were once called “Whistle-wings” or “Whistlers” for the distinctive whistling or squeaking sounds made by their wings in flight. They breed at boreal lakes and marshes throughout the Northern Hemisphere. In winter, they can be found along the coast and in all but the desert regions of the United States, where they frequent large bodies of water. Migratory flocks consisting mostly of juveniles begin to arrive in California by mid-October, but the bulk of their population remains on the breeding grounds until freezing conditions force them southward. While they form large rafts along with other diving ducks in deep water, Common Goldeneyes usually forage near shorelines in water less than 12 feet deep. Preferred foods include mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects, seeds, and tubers of aquatic plants. On Sierra lakes and rivers, they sometimes associate with Common Mergansers.
STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION Common Goldeneyes winter at higher elevations of the Sierra than most other diving ducks, except for Common Mergansers and Mallards; there are no breeding records.
West Side. Fairly common winter visitors and spring and fall migrants to most large lakes and reservoirs, as well as slow-moving stretches of major rivers from the low foothills to the Upper Conifer zone.
East Side. Fairly common visitors from November through March from Sierra Valley south; more common in recent decades than in the past.
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Bucephala islandica
ORIGIN OF NAMES “Barrow’s” for Sir John Barrow (1764–1848), an Englishman who promoted Arctic exploration; L. islandica, of Iceland, one of the species’ breeding areas.
NATURAL HISTORY In the Sierra, Barrow’s Goldeneyes are usually found in association with their much more numerous relatives, Common Goldeneyes, on large, deep lakes and rivers. Barrow’s Goldeneyes probably have always been rare nesters in California, as most of their population breeds at secluded lakes of the Cascades, Rockies, and mountainous portions of Alaska and Canada. Similar to Buffleheads and Wood Ducks, Barrow’s Goldeneyes nest in tree cavities such as abandoned woodpecker holes. Birdwatchers in the Sierra should be alert for these strikingly beautiful birds when scanning flocks of Common Goldeneyes.
STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION Historically at least, Barrow’s Goldeneyes were observed breeding in the Sierra, but there are no recent nesting records, despite extensive systematic and incidental surveys in formerly documented nesting areas.
West Side. Uncommon, before the 1940s a few nesting records from the Lassen region south to Fresno County, mostly from high-elevation lakes bordered by forests providing tree cavities for nesting; currently uncommon but regular in winter at Lake Almanor, on the Feather River at the De Sabla Reservoir, and at a few forested lakes and rivers of the central Sierra up to the Lower Conifer zone, with records from the Sonora and Valley Springs wastewater treatment ponds and Moccasin Reservoir (Tuolumne County); casual at higher elevations and south of the Yosemite region.
East Side. Fairly common along the Truckee River west of Reno and at the Truckee gravel ponds (Nevada County), with several birds present every winter; casual in fall and winter at Sierra Valley, and Lake Tahoe, but accidental farther south; careful searching of large goldeneye flocks on larger rivers, lakes, and reservoirs could reveal more records of this species.
Hooded Merganser
Lophodytes cucullatus
ORIGIN OF NAMES “Hooded” refers to the species’ distinctive, crested head; L. merganser, “a diving goose”; lophodytes from Gr. lophion, crest, and dytes, a diver; cucullatus from L. cucullata, a crest.
NATURAL HISTORY Of the three species of mergansers that occur annually in the Sierra, only Hooded Mergansers are restricted to North America, as Common and Red-breasted Mergansers also occur in Europe and Asia. Hooded Mergansers are the smallest and most dramatically colored of the three. At a distance, males might be confused with Buffleheads but their sides are tan, instead of white, and their delicate bills are long and pointed. Unlike the other mergansers that consume primarily fish, Hooded Mergansers also dine extensively on crayfish, amphibians, and aquatic insects—dragonfly nymphs are especially preferred. Their habitat preferences also differ from the other mergansers since they avoid the large lakes and rivers frequented by Commons and salt water preferred by Red-breasted Mergansers. Instead, Hoodeds in the Sierra seek secluded ponds and lakes in winter. Seldom pursued by hunters due to their fishy-tasting flesh, they are still wary ducks that dive or swim for
