Hooded Mergansers
Today I checked a river nearby, while looking for Common Goldeneye, and I was very pleased to find a pair of Hooded Mergansers there! They didn't stay in the partially opened river long but 
the small amount of time I did see them was just enough to take some pictures and acknow -ledge their presence there as another sign of returning migrants.
The first time I had seen Hooded Mergansers I was totally fascinated by their beauty. I had been driving home one day in late March, sometime in the early 2000's maybe, and I had caught a glimpse of a Hooded male in a river while driving across an old stone bridge beside a railroad track..JPG)
I immediately pulled over onto the shoulder and grabbed for my camera. I could see they had swam further up the stream, near an old flat railroad bridge, and so I hiked up the tracks and sat on the bridge for an half hour or so and just watched, completely in awe of this wonderful wildlife.JPG)
discovery. Since that first sighting I now seek them out each spring and even know of some locations where I can probably see a few. I checked through my old photos and found some that are my favourites. These last three photos in this post were taken in 2006..JPG)
4 comments:
Nice post. Thanks for sharing the photos.
They make such a striking pair...so different between the two sexes. Rreally lovely. I think I would sit for a half hour watching them, too! I love that reflection shot...so perfect!
mary;
With each new duck species posted I want to shout, "They are my favourites"; for I think they all are! And yes, they are so different from each other in appearance!
Your pictures are fantastic! It's not easy to get good close shots of them. They seem to be very shy here. I've been seeing a much greater variety of ducks this spring, but they're always so far away.
Post a Comment