Photo by Isabel Luevano
This winter, our San Francisco Bay center has received into care a few injured Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula) — beautiful diving ducks that winter in the open inland waters of our area.
This male Common Goldeneye was brought to us emaciated with a laceration underneath its mandible, rehabilitation technician Isabel Luevano reports. The injury created a piercing which caused the bird’s tongue to fall through it, rendering this animal unable to eat.
Our staff veterinarian, Dr. Rebecca Duerr, sutured the wound, and now the bird is “eating fish like there’s no tomorrow,” Luevano reports. The goldeneye is recovering in a pelagic pool and needs to both gain weight and heal its wound before it can be released.
Below, a photo of another Common Goldeneye cared for by our San Francisco Bay center earlier this season (photo by Cheryl Reynolds).
