A nice rare bird showed up near a Sanford mall very close to one of our favorite restaurants.  It was my lifer Common Goldeneye.  With the icky foggy weather, I haven’t been out photographing much in the mornings.  So it was great to get out this evening and see a fun bird and get a good dinner in the bargain!  Thanks to my nice hubby for accompanying me… :)

This is a female Common Goldeneye.  She was hanging out with a bunch of Hooded Mergansers near the Seminole Town Center.  Rich spent some quality time with his Kindle while I clicked away.  The bird was preening away, so I knew a wing-flap was inevitable.  Yep, there it was…

The normal winter range for the Common Goldeneye does extend into northern Florida, but they are not an easy bird to find around here.  It’s always fun to see a bird for the first time!  She joins the Bufflehead in the category of “uncommon Florida birds that I’ve photographed the female and now I really want to see a male!”

I came home and described the Goldeneye bird to my golden-eyed cat, who perked up at the term “bird-bird-bird” and then flipped a tail at me to fuss that her dinner was late.  Well, you can’t please everybody!