Winter Solstice sunrise in Pittsburgh, 21 Dec 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

28 December 2025

The painted bunting was not the only thing seen last week but it grabbed the headlines. In other news the Winter Solstice was unusually sunny (photos above and below) and I saw an Infrequent duck at Duck Hollow on Christmas Eve.

Sunny Winter Solstice day, Pittsburgh, 21 Dec 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

The common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) is a relatively small duck, closely related to buffleheads. The female has a chocolate brown head, a golden tip on her beak, and of course a golden eye. All three tipped me off to her identity.

Female common goldeneye at Duck Hollow, 24 Dec 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

Common goldeneyes are far from abundant in the Pittsburgh area but actually common in Canada in the breeding season and at the Great Lakes and waterways in the American West in winter as shown on their North American abundance map below.

Common goldeneye year-round abundance map in North America from eBird Status and Trends

I had thought that, like buffleheads, goldeneyes were only found in North America but I saw them in Finland last summer. In fact they have a disjoint range on three continents: Europe, Asia and North America.

Common goldeneye range map from eBird

Common there, but not here.