Nine days ago I had my best day so far this winter with Hooded Mergansers.
I spent quite a while with six of them, four males and two females, as they were fishing in a loose group. They were usually sidelit and not particularly close so I didn’t get very many high-quality photos of individual birds but I had fun trying to photograph their antics.
Following are 13 photos documenting three behaviors that I thought were interesting.
Here I was concentrating on the two drakes in the foreground, hoping against hope that both of them would veer slightly to their left which would put light on their faces. That never happened but a split second after I took this shot, something else did.
Hmmm, I wonder what that small disturbance in the water is right behind the raised crest of the top Hoodie of the pair at lower right. That disturbance wasn’t there in the previous shot in the burst.
Well I’ll be. It’s a female Hoodie rising to the surface after an underwater fishing expedition.
I of course had no clue she was even in the vicinity so when she popped to the surface right in the middle of the uncropped frame I was more than a little surprised. No big deal I suppose but it’s the first time I remember something like this happening in a series of my photos.
Hoodies are small ducks, which translates into speed. They spend most of their time on the surface swimming slowly from place to place while looking for a good place to dive for fish, so the photographer can be lulled into complacency. But they’re capable of incredible bursts of speed so if you’re not on your toes you’re going to miss it, whatever “it” turns out to be.
Not very often, but occasionally, one of the Hoodies will get a case of the “zoomies” for no apparent reason. That’s what happened here.
The foreground drake had turned just enough in the sidelight to put at least some light on his face and head so I fired off a burst. But another drake that I didn’t even know was in the vicinity put on an incredible burst of speed and passed right behind the foreground drake in two of my photos. This is the one of the two I liked best.
Typically I don’t appreciate being photobombed but this time was an exception.
In all the time I’ve spent with Hoodies this winter I’ve only seen one fight. When these two drakes started getting all huffy with each other and swam forcefully against each other as they both attempted to bulldoze the other bird in the water, I figured that a fight might be about to erupt.
I was right.
It was a pretty extended fight but it was difficult to photograph because one or both birds were usually partially or completely underwater. Most of my photos show violent water splashes while the combatants were underwater or mostly hidden by flying water.
In this shot one of the drakes has the other one pinned beneath him. He appears to be biting the belly area of his opponent.
I really had to study this next photo to figure out what was going on.
Here the eventual winner of the fight (I think) still has his opponent pinned beneath him and his opponent is actually upside down. I believe I can tell that from the position of the eventual loser’s wingtip, right leg and foot.
In this closer crop of the same photo I’ve outlined the upside down loser’s wingtip in red (upper left) and his right leg and foot also in red (at lower right). I believe that we can also see part of the loser’s bill that I’ve marked with a small red “x”.
I also believe that the next shot, below, provides further evidence that I’m right about the loser being upside down.
In an instant the drake on top had gone underwater and left this one still floundering upside down.
The bird that had gone underwater then made a sneak attack on his opponent and in this shot (that I wish was sharper) both birds are fighting on the surface while they’re upside down. Which makes me wonder if “upside down fighting” is a typical strategy for Hooded Mergansers. I dunno.
Here the fight is about over. The loser is escaping underwater as the victor is being engulfed by the water splash caused by the loser’s panicked escape.
When the fight was over, just as I expected the winner celebrated his victory with an enthusiastic wing flapping session. I just wish he’d turned his face more into the light coming from behind him.
I spent 41 minutes with these Hoodies before a woman and her dog came along and made all six of them fly off. I wasn’t happy about it but I consider myself lucky to have had as much time with them as I did.
Ron
The hoods on the crested mergansers are not just ornaments they flash messages and assume different shapes and positions. Cool little waterbird.
What fun birds!
For sure.
Love your zoomie shot and the last one; really great action series. Thanks.
Thank you, Burrdoo.
Simply this. I feel delighted. Thank you Ron.
Good. Thanks, Marcia.
Neat series, Ron!
Thanks, April.
Congratulations on great action pics of mergansers!
In a nearby local lake (in Edison New Jersey) I occasionally see these aggressive little ducks cruising around in squadron formation periodically diving for fish. Such fun to watch!
Thanks, Robert. I rarely see them act aggressively but that’s paartly because by breeding season they’ve already headed north.
I always refer to you as a national treasure, Ron, and this absolutely brilliant series demonstrates why. We are so fortunate to witness this through your lens and to focus, also, on behavior. Every time I find a Hoodie, I feel that I’ve been handed a special gift. Thank you.
Thanks for the exceptional compliment, Nanci. I feel the same way about Hoodies.
The phrase tempest in a teapot comes to mind. What prompts this expenditure of energy is mystery. Woke up on the wrong side of the pond I guess.
Good catch Ron.
“What prompts this expenditure of energy is mystery.”
I agree, Michael. I saw no evidence they were pairing up yet so I don’t think it was that.
What a great series! I gotta remember that term “zoomies.” Its a new ornithological word for me.
Thank you, Kent. Most folks use the term “zoomies” in the context of their dogs and cats zooming around but I think it’s perfectly applicable to birds doing the same thing.
Sensational series, thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Charlotte.
What a fun time for the photographer. Great series. Yes, they sure are fun to watch. I have only seen one or two fights, and neither as intense as yours here. And you are right, they really can go fast when speed is needed. The males are very handsome birds, but love the females with that hair do.
Thanks, Everett. Yes, it was great fun until the dog lady came along.
Wow – action packed! Love the female surprise entrance, and the winner’s dance of victory. Fighting upside down – who knew?!!
“who knew?”
Not me, that’s for sure. Thanks, Kathleen.
What fun! 🙂 Must be getting serious when one is trying to drown the other! Of course, don’t know what the one underwater was doing to the one on top either……. The female popping up out of nowhere also brought a VBG…..wonder if drakes knew she was there?
On another note the finches found a suitable puddle for bathing yesterday – wing noise is certainly different when they take off while wet!
“wonder if drakes knew she was there?”
I don’t think so, Judy – not till she popped up. You’ll notice that two of the drakes turned their head in her direction as soon as she appeared..
Wow– the action you captured ! In shot #6 in this series you’ve
posted, the roiling surface of the water looks like a volcano is about to
erupt– is that from furiously kicking feet ? If this were a video, we
wouldn’t be able to comprehend much of what’s going on– it’d be
too fast–the speed of your shutter reveals it all-I loved seeing it !
“is that from furiously kicking feet ?”
Yes, mostly or completely. Thank you, Kris.
I’ve seen these ducks chase each other off but never a squabble like this !!! Great series Ron !!
Thank you, Gary. This fight was a first for me too.
What an intense session. Being pinned upside down can’t be any fun at all. Love that triumphant t victory flap. Out of idle curiosity do you know whether the victor was the aggressor?
“do you know whether the victor was the aggressor?”
Not really, EC. I got the impression they were both eager to fight, as evidenced by the first shot in the series while they were “bulldozing” each other in the water.