Canvasback two ducks in water

Notes: Red heads and black breast, with back and flanks of canvas white. Pretty straightforward. Females echo the pattern more palely.

Ring-necked Ducks

Notes: Ring-necks are reminiscent of their relatives the scaups, but have a number of distinguishing features. The “ring-neck” is often utterly invisible in the field (see why I question those official bird-namers?), but they do also have a ring around the bill. In fact, they have two: one at the base and one at the tip. They also have gray flanks (darker than scaup), a black back (much darker than scaup), and a white spur around the shoulder.

Goldeneye three ducks in water

Notes: Ah, yes, the only duck to give a title to a James Bond movie. We actually have two goldeneyes, conventionally known as the common goldeneye and Barrow’s goldeneye, but Barrow’s are pretty scant, with a handful of them found at our local hotspot at the Bahia Lagoon among the few hundred commons that winter there. Both are distinctive, with dark heads punctuated by golden eyes and white face markings (a circle on commons, a crescent on Barrow’s), as well as a generally bold pattern of black and white. Females have brown heads and mostly gray backs. Goldeneyes arrive quite late, not really becoming numerous until December, but are well worth seeking out, particularly when they engage in their yoga-inspired courtship displays shown here.