The hooded mergansers were in the same place today as they were yesterday, although today their number was up to fifteen. I stood and watched them for a few minutes, snapped a few pictures, and then I saw the adult males (there were four of them) begin to act strangely, and I heard a weird sound coming from them. I realized I was witnessing courtship display! Their crests, composed completely of feathers, were raised high and they were contorting their heads and bodies in a myriad of positions. As they did so, they emitted a frog-like growling sound. I've never seen anything quite like that. Here is some of what I witnessed.
I got a closer look at the hooded mergansers yesterday, at least I assume they are of the same group. They were in the cove at the sailing school.
These ducks were in the French Basin when I walked around the trail this morning. I first noticed a duck with a tail sticking up, and then realized there were seven of them. When I zoomed in, I discovered they were hooded mergansers (at this time of the year, the males resemble the females). Last year there were several on the marsh in the late summer.
My first sighting of the year of Hooded Mergansers on the marsh. With luck they will nest here. Like the wood ducks, they usually nest in tree cavities, and are often seen with wood ducks in the summer time. A beautiful addition to the growing diversity of wildlife at this wetland.
I couldn't believe all the Hooded Mergansers at the marsh this morning. I counted nearly 30 in total. It's encouraging that so many have decided to make this area their winter home, which seems to be the case. The ice can be seen in the top half of the shot.
It seems as though every day I see more Hooded Mergansers at the marsh. Today I counted a group of 17 of what appeared to be juvenile females and males, as from a distance they all looked alike. It is nice to see so many of these birds here. There's a good chance they may winter over here, moving out to the river as soon as the marsh freezes over.
They are very wary birds, so it is difficult to get good shots of them without a telephoto lens. This shot, taken yesterday, shows four of them swimming away from me.
I saw the ten Hooded Mergansers again, both yesterday and today. This shot, taken yesterday, shows two adult males - the crest on the male in the center is completely raised - and one female, on the right. Although some of the ones I presume to be female could be juvenile males, which resemble the female.
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I saw these four male Hooded Mergansers swimming towards the marsh edge this morning, so hurried along to where they were headed. I was pleasantly surprised to find ten in total, six females in addition to the four males. They could remain on the marsh until it freezes, and then move out to the river.
There seemed to be fewer birds on the marsh today. Although I saw four of the Ruddy Ducks, I couldn't find the Coots. I did however, see this Hooded Merganser pair, male and female. The female is the one in the bottom photo.
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When I made my way through the woods to get a look at the wood ducks on their usual perches (there were at least a dozen that I could see), I spotted these two male Hooded Mergansers in the same location. They are now in full winter plumage. There have been Hooded Mergansers on the marsh in the past, but these are the first I've seen this year.
Boy, was I surprised - and pleased - when I got this photo in my editing program and realized I had caught a pair of juvenile Hooded Mergansers, after just having seen one a few days ago. They were swimming on the marsh near some Blue-winged Teals and Black Duck juveniles. I have seen the occasional adult Hooded Merganser on the marsh, and I saw one female with a brood of chicks last year, but this is the first year I have noticed juveniles.
Yesterday I was walking the trail that goes past the sailing school next to the marsh, to see what I might find in the stream there. I had just gone past some trees, when I noticed a ripple in the stream, and knew that something was in the water. When I saw the bird, I just had time to focus and take a shot before it flew off. I didn't know what it was even after I downloaded the photo into my editing program. After some searching in my resources and on the internet, I discovered it was a juvenile Hooded Merganser. Another exciting first!
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