Yesterday was a day of highs and lows but thankfully it ended on a “Hoodie high”.
The pre-dawn morning started out promising when the weather radar and satellite images strongly suggested we’d have a sunny morning so I prepared to go out shooting for the first time in a week. Then reality (and the folly of actually believing what AccuWeather said) set in when at sunrise I could see we were once again socked in with clouds so at the last minute I tucked my tail between my legs and stayed home.
But late in the afternoon the sun really did come out so I couldn’t resist rolling the dice to see if I’d get lucky with birds. I struck out at my first three birding spots but just a few minutes before sunset at my fourth bird stop I hit a home run with a drake Hooded Merganser. I call it a home run because I believe he was only the 4th Hoodie I’ve ever photographed and for the first time with this species he actually came out of the water and posed for me.
1/800, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
He spent most of his time in the water and I’ll post some of those shots at a later time. Since I took several hundred photos of him late in the day I haven’t had time to review them all so today I’ll only post three shots, two of them taken while he was out of the water. This is one of my favorites because we get such a good look at a species that is usually partially hidden by water and I caught him with his crest is fully erected.
I certainly didn’t expect him to come out of the water and onto the grass so I was pretty excited when he posed nicely for me on the grass and in soft, warm light just before sunset. Hooded Mergansers are the smallest of the three North American merganser species (only 1.4 lb compared to 3.4 lb for the Common Merganser) and I usually can’t get close to them so it was fun to get many frame-filling shots of this spiffy little dude.
1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 400mm, not baited, set up or called in
He even relaxed enough to sit down on the grass and rest for a while.
These photos may suggest that this guy was somehow a tame bird but that’s far from the truth. He was a wild and skittish duck, especially when he was in the water.
1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
Several times while he was swimming something panicked him (I could never tell what it was) and he exploded off the water. Once he circled around overhead but eventually he returned. I was only lucky to keep him in frame in this shot where he was running away from something that spooked him instead of actually taking off like he had earlier.
You’ll likely see more of this dandy little duck sometime soon. After such a frustrating week I was pretty stoked to find him, especially in such a cooperative mood.
Ron
Spectacular shots Ron, thanks for sharing!
Charlotte
Spectacular shots Ron, thanks for sharing!
Charlotte
So well portrayed!
Thank you, Jane.
Ron, what a pleasure to look at your photos. Interesting that it is rare to get shots with the Drake Hooded Merganser out of the water. You must be quite pleased. Thank you for a great series that I enjoyed so much.
Alice, from what others have said it apparently IS rare, or at least somewhat unusual. I didn’t even know it was.
Stunning!
Thanks, Linda.
I remember a couple years ago mentioning the return of the hooded mergansers to a local pond, and you wishing you had them near you. I’m so glad you got your wish, especially when you got such great pictures of the little dandy.
Thank you, Robyn. Actually we’ve always had them here, it’s just that they tend to hang around in areas I usually can’t get to because of my bad back so I’ve only rarely been able to photograph them.
Beautiful photos. He sure looks more coordinated on land than the Western Grebe. But I think he wins the award for the beadiest eyes; they look kind of comical in relation to that huge head
Ha, no bird is more land-awkward than the W. Grebe, Lyle. But this guy had a definite waddle to him…
What an elegant little charmer.
I am so very pleased that he posed for you.
Me too, EC.
Love those little Hoodies! Thank you for the wonderful shots Ron. I was watching some Mallards on a pond a couple of years ago and one seemed to be scooting off like your little Hoodie and so I watched for awhile and saw that a Muskrat was swimming under water and maybe nudging or nipping the Mallard.
Thanks, Shirley. What you describe would have been fun to see.
Looks like I need to squeeze one more photo into my “Top 10 FP Faves” list! That first shot is pure joy, Ron. And kudos for capturing him in such a sweet spot! Can’t wait to see the rest of this series.
I’m glad you like that one, Diane. So do I. A lot.
A “Spiffy little dude”, indeed ! I’d like to suggest that you switch from AccuWeather to NOAA—–I finally did after several years of being
frustrated by IN accuweather info—-and find NOAA more dependable.
I’ll give NOAA a shot, Kris. I’m fed up with several other sources.
Cute little bugger !! I see a few up here in New England, BUT never out of the water !! They seem to be a solitary bird. Usually I see the males alone when I do see them.
Gary, I usually see lone males too but last winter I photographed a male already paired up with his lady.
Beautiful! Don’t think I’ve ever seen one and certainly a bird worth waiting for…… 🙂 Love his color and “pompadour” head gear. 😉 How much is “hair” and how much is head? See he runs pretty much like the Common…..
“he runs pretty much like the Common”
Yes, but he’s smaller and quicker. Common Mergansers don’t come up to speed nearly as fast. Thanks, Judy.
THAT would be a challenge!
Hooded Mergansers are very common here in NY, during the winter months. If fact there has been dozens of them swimming in the river behind our house for the past few weeks. I’ve taken more than my share of photographs of these handsome birds over the years, in the water, in the air, on the ice, but I have never seen one come out of the water, onto land. If I didn’t see it in your photos, I wouldn’t have believed it! Very interesting. Thanks for showing me a behavior I’ve never seen.
Everet, thanks for affirming what I also thought was unusual, even though I have relatively little experience with this species.
Quite the ‘dapper’ fella! 😍 They always remind me of the guys from ‘West Side Story’ with their hair combed up into that slick, shiny pompadour! These are fantastic shots…I really think your first photo is the best shot I’ve ever seen of this species. I know I’ve never seen one out walking; for me they are always in the water. Great ending to your day.
Ha, you’re right about that West Side Story observation, Kathy. I can actually see George Chakiris in this bird.
I’m delighted you like that first shot so much. I’m very partial to it myself.
What a beautiful bird, have only seen them in pictures. Thanks, Ron.
Thank you, Sarah. They’re a spiffy species, that’s for sure.
Love these handsome guys Ron. Outstanding photos. I really enjoy these guys and we have lots of them here. So often to me at least, ducks look so much better in the water than out. So often ducks, coots, mergansers, etc, that look beautiful in the water look like pumped up blimps out of the water. That last exploding out of the water shot is really good.
Thanks, Everett. I guess I like this guy out of the water because it’s something I rarely see with this species.