Two males and a female.
Readers already know that for nearly a week now I’ve been trying to photograph an adult male Hooded Merganser, with little success. On those unusual occasions when I’ve found him, he’s been too wild and shy to allow me to get close. But I don’t have opportunities with this species very often so I’ve been persistent all week. Mostly, it’s just been frustrating.
Yesterday I was surprised and very pleased to find that the previously lone male had been joined by a second male and a female – for a grand total of three adult Hooded Mergansers. And I couldn’t believe my luck when I discovered that much of the pond was covered with a thin layer of ice, so the mergansers were restricted to a smaller area of the pond. As a result, they only had two choices – to fly off or to allow me to get closer.
Thankfully, they chose the latter. At least for a while.
This is one of the males.
The lone female.
Usually all three mergansers had their crests (hoods) down or only semi-erected so I always fired off a few shots when one of them fully erected its crest. With two males around, that happened fairly often.
I’m a sucker for the flashy white, fan-shaped crest of the males when it’s fully erected.
The three mergansers nearly always stuck together in a loose group but I found it impossible to get photos I liked of all three of them. Two of them was about all I could manage.
In this shot, the other male was just out of frame to the left. My time with these mergansers is one of the relatively few times I’ve wished that my prime lens was a zoom.
Getting both males in a photo I liked was even harder than getting good photos of the female with one of the males. This is about as close as I came. Yes, I was shooting through vegetation or other obstructions much of the time.
One of the males at the beginning of a wing flap. Wings forward,…
wings back.
Their wing flaps were shorter in duration than they are with most other ducks. A couple of quick flaps and they’re done, so I had to be quick on the trigger.
There were other ducks on the pond but the mergansers were aloof and usually avoided them. When I took this photo, the three mergansers were intent on reaching a particular area on the other side of the pond, so they swam right through the group of other ducks and one Pied-billed Grebe.
One of the males performing another wing flap.
I had no idea that this was about to happen, or even that it was happening until right after I took the photo.
In the shot before this one I was focused on the male and the female was out of frame to the right. My best guess is that the other male merganser (or perhaps a nearby Pied-billed Grebe) was chasing the female and I just happened to catch most of her in the frame as she zoomed by.
Whatever caused it, I sure as hell wish I hadn’t cut off her tail.
Ron
Great photos! I’ve never seen the males with their crests raised. That’s pretty amazing. And they always look like they’re happy. I wonder how much hair spray the female uses on her crest? Thanks for these wonderful images!
Thanks, Kathryn. I wouldn’t be surprised if both sexes use hair spray.
Hey Ron. Been up in the mountains unplugged for a week. Just catching up.
Love these photos. The Red-tailed phots were excellent as well.
Thanks, Michael. Hope you had a great time up there.
Sure did.
Like many others, I love Mergansers, so I loved seeing this series. And seeing with my own eyes the difference between the males crest raised and lowered. It explains my confusion over the different looks to their head shape when I’ve seen them before. All the shots are beautiful, but I particularly love the wing flap ones and the one with the female jetting by behind the male. Fantastic and thank you
Much appreciated, Pat. You almost sound like a student of mergansers.
Wow!! Wonderful to see. Thanks so much!!
Thank you, Mary.
Absolutely stunning series, Ron! One of your best ever. Good going!
Thanks very much, Karen.
Fantastic series, Ron. I hope you had a chance to hear the males vocalize. Sibley’s app lists it as “male pops & growls”. It’s one of the strangest bird vocalizations I’ve ever heard. And I didn’t realize that you’d clipped her tail until you pointed it out. I was mesmerized by her intense expression!
Nope, I didn’t hear a peep out of the males, Diane. I’m not sure I ever have.
Yes, the boys are flashy, but that girl is very classy! 🤩
Great photos of these very cool-looking ducks, glad you had such a good morning with them. (And Kris’s “choir director” comment is right on target.)
“Yes, the boys are flashy, but that girl is very classy!”
I strongly agree, Chris. On both counts.
These are stunning, Ron. I guess I will have to stop by before work one morning. I love mergansers, I think they are my top favorite duck.
They’re among my favorites too, April. Maybe #1.
Such beauty, Ron. Thank you!
Thanks, Cathryn.
Ooh and ahh. I was obviously a merganser in a previous life. That is one beautiful erection. Series of erections. And the female is pretty special too.
“That is one beautiful erection.”
Now that made me smile, EC. Big time.
Good. I smiled (broadly) throughout the entire post.
What a wonderful series!!
Thanks, Charlotte.
What a fun morning for you Ron! Thx for bringing us along – so joyful!
Glad you enjoyed them, Kathleen.
What a treat, Ron! I don’t recall ever seeing a full crest up position, so these shots are extra special! Those two males seem to be wasting no time in making a show of it for the female.
I get a giggle from the multi-duck — and grebe — shot. The mergansers are intent on their target and the others don’t seem to have a care in the world. I’m also imagining the wake from the mergansers spinning the top two Mallards right around. Yep, gonna be a coffee morning! 😂
Thank you, Marty. I almost didn’t include that “multi-duck” shot. I’m glad I changed my mind.
😃
Beautiful series, Ron! Female VERY attractive even without the dramatic colors – luv her scurrying by in the last shot. The wing flaps are impressive with the various colors. 🙂 With their crests up they almost look like aliens 😉
52 and windy this morning……..chinook zone doing it’s thing….. 😉
Judy, I appreciate the females as much as I do the males but largely for different reasons. Females are classy-looking, especially with their crest raised.
I do remember those chinooks…
Wonderful pictures! I have never seen a Hooded Merganser with it’s crest up so very exciting.
Thank you, Laurie.
Beautiful group and some individual stunners! Persistence pays off!
All the Hooded Mergansers I have seen so far have been way across the bay! Just curious… do you bring binos with you to help you find birds?
“do you bring binos with you to help you find birds?”
Nope. My lens serves as my binos.
I used to carry binos in my pickup (maybe they’re still there?) but I find that I never use them, except for rarely when I’m out camping.
What stunning–looking birds…. The next to last shot, the male performing a wing flap, reminded me of a choir director in the
flow of musical performance…….what a good morning’s work
for YOU… I really enjoyed this spread !
“reminded me of a choir director in the flow of musical performance”
Thanks, Kris. I can almost hear the music.
Outstanding Ron. I remember being so fascinated when I first saw them 19 years ago. We get all the types of Mergansers here on our lakes. Love the exotic look of the crested females. Really nice
shots here.
Thank you, Everett. We get all three merganser species too, but far fewer Red-breasted.
Yes – same here – the rarest of the Mergansers