
My next stop for the day was the Naxwit Picnic area, just between the two one-lane bridges. It’s closed until the May long-weekend so I had the place to myself. The first birds I saw was a large gathering of Spotted Towhees, Dark Headed Juncos, Robins and a few Sparrows. There were all on the ground kicking up dirt looking for dinner I presume.
The next bird I saw was one to add to my list. There was a male Common Goldeneye on the other side of the channel and as soon as he saw me he started putting even more distance between us.

The next morning I visited the same spot and saw the solitary Goldeneye sitting there again. I wasn’t sure if this was a “Common” or a “Barrows” until I looked at my photos on my computer. I’m pretty sure that he just has a white dot on his face which indicates he’s Common. If he was a Barrow’s the white would be a bigger streak on the side of his face.

The females look quite a bit different from the males. There were no females hanging around this time but I searched my archives and came up with this picture above from Stanley Park last January.
Suggestion – shoot for proper exposure of the whites. I know that ins’t always possible. 🙂 Keep on shooting.
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I will keep that in mind. Still struggling to wean myself away from the automatic settings on my camera. Thanks for the feedback, really appreciated!!
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I suggest you start with aperture priority with exposure compensation as needed. Later on try full manual.
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