Common Goldeneye
(Bucephala clangula)

Overview

Summary

© Jukka Jantunen (flickr.com/photos/jukka_jantunen)
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

In North America, the Common Goldeneye breeds in tree cavities across the boreal forest regions of Canada and Alaska. The national population has been steadily increasing since the 1970s. The increase has occurred mainly in the western population while the population in eastern Canada has remained stable. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

Common Goldeneyes are obligate cavity nesters and the most important factor limiting their population is likely the availability of suitable cavities for nesting. In recently or historically logged regions, forestry practices may have reduced cavity availability; however, the species will readily make use of nest boxes. Common Goldeneye prefer fishless lakes and, in some areas, may have benefited from acidification (i.e., acid rain) through the decline of fish competitors and subsequent increases in invertebrate prey populations (Sea Duck Joint Venture Management Board 2008). Common Goldeneyes are hunted across Canada, with the largest numbers traditionally taken in eastern Canada. The total number of Common Goldeneyes taken in Canada has been decreasing since the 1980s concurrently with the decline in waterfowl hunters.

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Canadian Wildlife Service Waterfowl Committee. 2014. Population Status of Migratory Game Birds in Canada: November 2014. CWS Migratory Birds Regulatory Report Number 44. Canadian Wildlife Service Waterfowl Committee. 2014. Population Status of Migratory Game Birds in Canada: November 2014. CWS Migratory Birds Regulatory Report Number 44. (Link)
• Sea Duck Joint Venture Management Board. 2008. Sea Duck Joint Venture Strategic Plan 2008–2012. USFWS, Anchorage and Canadian Wildlife Service, Sackville. 95 pp. Sea Duck Joint Venture Management Board. 2008. Sea Duck Joint Venture Strategic Plan 2008–2012. USFWS, Anchorage and Canadian Wildlife Service, Sackville. 95 pp. (Link)