Hooded Merganser Duckling
by Karen Adams
Title
Hooded Merganser Duckling
Artist
Karen Adams
Medium
Photograph - Fine Art Digital Prints - Photography
Description
Such an adorable young Hooded Merganser enjoying the thrill of being alone and on his/her own, exploring the wide, wide world!
It was a pleasant Sunday in March as I walked through an Ohio wooded ravine and approached the wooden bridge that crosses the secluded lake. As my dog and I stepped onto the bridge, a frantic flutter of feathers flew out from underneath and I watched beautifully marked black and white ducks hurrying away as fast as they could fly. I am used to Mallards ducks and Canada Geese floating around these bodies of water, but I had never seen this type before. I had to hurry back to my house and walk back without the pup to try to find these guys again. Now I had to walk up into the wooded areas and down to follow along the animal paths that traced the shoreline.
I startled a pair of these before I saw them again! Then I realized there were three or four pair of them. Being as careful as I could possibly be, I could not sneak up on any of them. They seemed to want to hug the shoreline and so when I came anywhere close they quickly flew to the opposite side of the lake, which is a good sized lake! I did see a lone little one swimming about all by itself in the middle of the lake and clicked as many shots as I could (and this is that little one!)
I stood there in silence, trying not to move for quite a while with no success. Then I slowly walked past an annoyed gaggle of geese to get closer to the other side, also to no avail. Finally I headed back to the old bridge and as quietly as possible walked a bit further in another direction. Then I spotted them near the other side of a narrow cove. I hid in bushes and actually had trouble getting a shot without a branch in the way! This is the only shot I got that wasn't a blur before they spotted me and took off!
Then my work involved figuring out what they were. When they flew, I could definitely see the 'hood' and so I determined them to be Hooded Mergansers. They are really stunning creatures!
They are listed as common here in Ohio! The Cornell Lab of Ornithology 'All About Birds' describes Hooded Mergansers as:
" 'Hooded' is something of an understatement for this extravagantly crested little duck. Adult males are a sight to behold, with sharp black-and-white patterns set off by chestnut flanks. Females get their own distinctive elegance from their cinnamon crest. Hooded Mergansers are fairly common on small ponds and rivers, where they dive for fish, crayfish, and other food, seizing it in their thin, serrated bills. They nest in tree cavities; the ducklings depart with a bold leap to the forest floor when only one day old."
Everyday I walk back to the lake and I have not seen them again, but I will keep looking!!
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Hooded Merganser
Lophodytes cucullatus
ORDER: Anseriformes
FAMILY: Anatidae
Thank you so much for looking at my images. I appreciate that very much.
I am very concerned with our environment and have decided to donate any money I make from any sales of this image to the ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND.....because the Earth needs a good lawyer! We all need to speak up and support efforts to protect our environment. We will not get a second chance!
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Uploaded
March 31st, 2019
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