- Like many (though not all) of my readers this is a day of extreme sadness and mourning for me and I briefly considered breaking tradition and making this post a political one – partly because I desperately need the catharsis that doing so might provide. But in the end I decided that such a discussion is inappropriate for Feathered Photography and instead chose to use this post as a brief escape from my misery and despair. I hope my readers who feel as I do can do the same.
Three days ago there was a brief break in the clouds and gunky air of our inversion so on impulse I walked a section of the Jordan River with my gear on my tripod and looked for birds. I ended up watching and photographing one of the longest and most intense bird fights I’ve ever witnessed.
There are 18 images in this post (all presented in the order they were taken) and I didn’t have time to include image techs for each one individually but here’s a summary:
- 1/1600-1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
This male and female Common Goldeneye were swimming together and diving for food in very close proximity to each other so I assumed they were a mated pair. This species is monogamous and their pair bonds begin to form in December so because of their behavior that seemed to be a reasonable assumption.
But if they were a bonded pair they sure had some strange ways of showing it.
It all started when this Mallard landed on the water just out of frame to the right. His momentum and inertia carried him directly in front of the lovebirds and created a wake that…
quickly engulfed the female…
and then washed over the male. That was apparently the stimulus that caused all hell to break loose.
Instantly (when the wake of the mallard was still only inches behind them) the female turned on the unsuspecting male…
and attacked.
The male seemed nonplussed about what set her off and moved slightly to our right with a confused look on his face.
As she continued to jabber-jaw at him in an extremely aggressive manner the entire scene reminded me of situations many humans get into with their spouses or partners where one of them wonders “Wow, what did I do to deserve that?”. I well remember being in that same situation myself many times in my younger years…
Finally the male had enough and went on the offensive. When he rushed her she seemed just a little surprised.
This part of the encounter was vicious and incredibly fast. In many of my shots of the action all the viewer can see is flying water.
The male pinned her down underwater but she briefly escaped his wrath…
and disappeared beneath the water for a moment before beginning to surface again. Here we see the top of her head and her eye just under water to the left. But the male knew exactly where she was and moved in to…
ambush her as she emerged.
He bit her head before she had even completely resurfaced.
She escaped him again but wasn’t yet ready to concede defeat – far from it. She circled around (we can see her track in the water just above and slightly behind the two ducks) and then turned to face him aggressively (or defensively?) again.
Once again they rushed each other and as they met…
their clash reminded me of two bighorn rams colliding during a fight. Once again their skirmish was so intense that in most of my images all I could see was flying water.
But eventually the female turned tail and escaped in defeat.
I wish I knew the back-story here. Were the birds a mated pair? I sure thought they were until the fight broke out and even now I’m not convinced otherwise. And if they were bonded is this typical behavior for the situation? And what set them off in the first place? It seems like the timing of the Mallard’s landing had to be more than just coincidence but why that would cause them to fight I can only speculate about.
Whatever the cause I sure enjoyed watching and photographing the behavior. With birds you just never know what’s about to transpire…
Ron
We are one nation supposedly…..this country is made of democrats and republicans … and united we should stand …under God one nation … Republicans and Democrats two sides of One coin .. keeps things balanced
“and united we should stand”
You’ve a right to your opinion, Marina.
Personally, I’ll provide the same amount of support and respect to President Trump and his disastrous policies as the typical republican has provided to President Obama over the past 8 years. Not one iota more…
Great series!
Today was non-stop news clips, speeches, and trump jokes. It’s all the teachers could talk about. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that it won’t get so bad we’ll all have to move way up North…
P.S. Have you ever seen the bighorn rut in person? I want to someday…
Thanks, Levi. As a retired teacher I remember having to deal with unpleasant things (in some ways similar to this election) with my kids. It can be a ticklish situation for a teacher…
I’ve seen bighorn rams during the rut but sadly I’ve never seen them fighting.
Family fights. I suspect that if another bird had joined the fray both of the Goldeneyes would have turned on the intruder. What an amazing sequence to have seen. Gob and smacked.
And yes, my heart goes out to you all from this side of the world.
I’ll bet you’re right about what would have happened to an intruder, EC. And thanks for the empathy, all the way from Australia. I for one appreciate it.
Thanks for bringing some joy on an otherwise depressing day. It makes you wonder if even nature is a little put off by this day.
Thanks, Steve. If I were her (nature) I sure would be…
Yikes! I wonder if the female being almost drowned by the mallard’s wake made her think the male goldeneye had started to try to mate before she said she was ready. Once it starts, tho, a fight seems to need no reason to continue. Many thanks for not going political, I just loathe the whole mess.
“Once it starts, tho, a fight seems to need no reason to continue”
A universal truth, Nancy.
Denial is no longer an option, is it? I kept hoping for a lightning bolt or something–anything. SIGH!
But back to the birds, who make far more sense overall. I’ve often noticed behavior that looks just like an old married human couple and this is no exception (in my weary mind anyway). And sometimes old married couples get on each other’s last darn nerve. It can be as simple as a mallard splashing water in your face when you think your mate is supposed to be doing the equivalent of walking on the street side of the sidewalk. Evidently, she was expecting a little bit of chivalry and he was clueless 😉 Or something like that.
I’ve decided that it doesn’t really matter very much why she did it, Laura. I’m just glad I was there to see and photograph it.
Yeah, I get that. Wish I’d been there to see it, too 😉
What a great story and thanks for the diversion. I too am in the dumps for today and this certainly raised my spirits. I love your pictures and the stories you add. Thanks again.
Raising spirits is a tall order today, Betty. Delighted to know this post accomplished it for you.
I was going to say, nothing worse then a woman’s scorn, but then he had to have the last say. That’s life I guess.
At least was on this particular day, Jean.
Great distraction from the day’s grim events. Thanks,John
Thank you, John.
That Mallard either had a lot of grimacing guilt or, more likely, was having a Donald Duck fit of laughing at what he started! Thx for the moment of escape on this bleak day.
“a Donald Duck fit of laughing”
I liked that analogy, Kent. I can almost hear it…
It seems to me like they might be blaming each other for what the Mallard did to them. This was definitely quite a skirmish! I agree that today is a sad day – a major reason I’m glad that we picked up a tour to guide today out at the park. The park always restores me, even when I don’t see a lot of wildlife.
Susan, it’s overcast and gray here – otherwise I’d be out shooting for my escape from sad reality. Thankfully I have a lunch date with some old friends to distract me for a while.
Ron, I feel for you. You probably don’t want to know that we had a great group, saw a Roadrunner, a Gray Ghost, and – we went to see our very rare plant, and even though it’s deciduous, it still had leaves, so people who had never seen it before could see it in all its glory. Hope your lunch went well.
I’m glad you had a good experience, Susan.
My lunch date was a blast. Saw two old friends, one I hadn’t seen in about 35 years (the three of us used to work together at the Utah Museum of Natural History), and it was just like old times. We reminisced, laughed and just enjoyed each other’s company. An extremely welcome distraction from the unpleasant events of the day!
Fantastic series, Ron! It’s encounters such as this that keeps us waking before dawn, sitting in uncomfortable positions for long periods and spending money we probably shouldn’t on better equipment. The one thing predictable about birding is its unpredictability!
“The one thing predictable about birding is its unpredictability”
Boy, isn’t that the truth, Wally! And we have to be prepared when it happens. There’s not many things worse than to miss the shots for whatever reason.
I feel like a fight myself…waffling between anger,despair, incredulity, fear and fight!!! This is the perfect post to mark the day!!!
🙂
As usual wonderful capture of a puzzling behavior. Just the distraction one needs on this dark day—-thank you so much for this.
I’m glad this post helped you deal with at least part of today, Bobbi. Thank you.
Thank you so much Ron, never realized that aggressiveness in the Goldeneye or any of the water fowl. One day I saw two male & one female Hooded Mergansers and the one male was chasing off the other male but not with that viciousness. I know that we, your neighbour to the north will soon be affected by the happenings there today, my heart goes out to you all.
Shirley, I’ve seen many fights between waterfowl of various species but this one was fairly unique in its intensity and in how long it lasted.
Thank you for your kind wishes, for all of us.
WOW! Good you have some high speed continuous shooting available! 🙂 The viciousness involved is surprising. I too am avoiding the TV today as all it does is piss me off and raise my blood pressure! 🙁 🙂
“Good you have some high speed continuous shooting available”
Exactly, Judy! A fast burst rate and a buffer that doesn’t fill quickly were invaluable in this situation.
Wow, what action! Great series. It really captures how aggressive they can be. Always stay on a duck’s good side.
We had a mated pair of Mottle ducks visit our pool a couple of years ago. Their rituals can be brutal.
“Always stay on a duck’s good side”
Thanks, I needed that smile, Kathy – today especially.
“A brief escape from my misery and despair” – well put, Ron! Thanks for being a bright spot on a dark day.
You’re very welcome, Diane. Thanks.
Back to your original comment; perhaps even the ducks are frustrated, angered and venting with the upcoming political event this day! Don
🙂
Wow! The sheen on that Mallard’s head.
My anthropomorphizing brain says that the Mallard insulted her and darling hubby didn’t come to her defense, so he’s had it. Then he gets miffed because, I mean, what could he do? Beat up the Mallard? He’s a love, not a fighter. 😉
Thanks for sharing this series and providing some distraction. I wasn’t able to sleep last night (hence, my rambling). I’m just too devastated — today is indeed a sad, sad day…
Marty, I didn’t even see that Mallard coming. I was just lucky to get him in one of my images.
Amazing series, Ron. They certainly went after each other. (I too, am avoiding TVs and media today so thanks for this.)
Cindy, these images document only a small part of the skirmish. I have many more photos of it but I figured 18 was more than enough… 🙂