Barrrow’s Goldeneye

Barrow’s Goldeneyes are among our favorite local winter birds. Erika and I found this one at Woodard Bay Preserve near Olympia on 23 November 2020. These ducks have an interesting range. A few breed in Iceland and locally in Quebec. Most breed in Rocky Mountain Lakes and winter in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere in the western United States. About 60% of the approximately 200,000 Barrow’s Goldeneyes breed and winter in British Columbia. Others breed in Alaska and the northern Rocky Mountains. Eadie et al. (2020) write that this duck is “named for John Barrow (1764-1848) of the British Admiralty in recognition of his support of arctic exploration.”