Saturday, April 12, 2008

Camera Critters: Hooded Mergansers

The hooded mergansers arrived this week. The male is black and white and the female is brown. They often feed by swimming upstream, against the current, and scooping fish into their mouth. They are very shy and difficult to photograph close up.

I took these photos from my house. They are swimming in the flooded beaver ponds across the road. This required that I use a full 10x zoom in order to get any detail. Mergansers are "diving fish ducks with spikelike bills [and] saw-edged mandibles. Most species have crests, and are long-lined, slender-bodied" (Peterson Field Guide of Eastern Birds).

I am very happy to participate in the first week of Camera Critters. Be sure to click either the graphic below or the Technorati tag and view other animal photography. This is sure to be a popular meme.

To visit more participants,
click or the graphic above.

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27 comments:

  1. bcmomtooApril 12, 2008 8:06 PM

    I had never heard of these. You did an excellent job capturing them. They're really pretty, aren't they?

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  2. Misty DawnSApril 12, 2008 8:10 PM

    I can't tell you how honored and excited I am that you joined CC! I'm a HUGE fan of your photography!

    I have never seen or heard of the Mergansers before. So, I learned a lot in this post. They are quite the beautiful bird! That female is definitely camera shy ;-)

    Again, thank you for joining Camera-Critters! I can't wait to see your critter photos each week!

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  3. Trish ~ ♥ ~April 12, 2008 8:13 PM

    I was at a local bird refuge today and plan on posting several photos tomorrow. Saw the hooded and common merganser along with many other avian friends, nice post.

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  4. Mom Knows EverythingApril 12, 2008 9:21 PM

    What beautiful markings on them!

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  5. SonnyApril 12, 2008 9:38 PM

    Oh I wish I have sea next to my house. I love it.
    Wonderful pictures! Thanks for sharing! Beautiful animals.

    My CC is up, too. Please hop over if you like to.

    Hugs,
    &hearts Sonny

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  6. AnonymousApril 13, 2008 2:15 AM

    Great series, beautiful birds!

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  7. KOSTASApril 13, 2008 4:07 AM

    Marvellously collection, with beautiful photographs, very beautiful the first CC action!

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  8. AnonymousApril 13, 2008 5:22 AM

    Absolutely stunning shots - thanks for joining CC and for sharing your photo-set with us!

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  9. TomApril 13, 2008 8:32 AM

    We do not have the Hooded Mergansers in the UK.. or if we do I have never come across them.. these are stunning.. I can see I will be learning a great deal with Camera Critters

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  10. Sandy MApril 13, 2008 8:35 AM

    What amazing pictures. I just love your photos!

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  11. threesidesofcrazyApril 13, 2008 10:27 AM

    Ducks - a sure sign of spring!

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  12. RheaApril 13, 2008 10:55 AM

    Very neat Hooded Mergansers. I love duck pictures and ducks in general. Do these make the usual duck noises?

    We were at a pond the other day (me and my boys) and we heard weird noises..I thought it was a frog noise, the boys thought ducks, so we made up a new name for the mystery animal we never saw: Frucks, for frog duck(a fun word to say but sounds highly inappropriate!)

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  13. GretchenApril 13, 2008 11:13 AM

    Great photos! I love being out photographing wild life.

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  14. i beatiApril 13, 2008 12:09 PM

    talk about dressed in their Sunday best

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  15. Lilli & NevadaApril 13, 2008 12:17 PM

    What a neat name for them, they are pretty and the setting is nice too

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  16. DeeMomApril 13, 2008 12:33 PM

    Mergansers are beautiful ducks...Super pictures

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  17. Juliana RWApril 13, 2008 1:50 PM

    I also like to take duck pics :D
    Great shot.

    Mine in here Thanks

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  18. BarbApril 13, 2008 3:44 PM

    Your skill in photography never ceases to amaze me!

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  19. Kerri FarleyApril 13, 2008 6:45 PM

    Fantastic captures!! Well Done!

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  20. StaceyApril 13, 2008 8:34 PM

    Misty is an amazing woman, not gonna lie. I can see why she's a fan..your post is great, you've obviously got a beautiful setting for your photography! Happy CC

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  21. Heart of RachelApril 13, 2008 11:44 PM

    The mergansers are lovely. It's awesome that you have such a great view from your house.

    Thank you for visiting my other blog.

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  22. AnnaApril 13, 2008 11:52 PM

    Now I feel better because I thought I'm the only one that is posting dock hehehehe..Great shot..Thanks for sharing...
    Mine is up:
    My Digital Snapshot

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  23. PaulieApril 14, 2008 12:04 AM

    Absolutely wonderful series! I have an entry too if you want to drop by.

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  24. Coy HillApril 14, 2008 6:16 AM

    Your Hoodies are beautiful!

    I don't know enough about the mergansers to tell you why most of the flocks I encounter are females although this is frequently the case.

    Thanks for your comments on Country Captures.
    Salty

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  25. MikeApril 14, 2008 8:40 AM

    Great shots of the ducks. We don't have any like these in my area or at least I haven't seen any. A good post for this meme.

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  26. AnonymousApril 14, 2008 9:46 AM

    I've never seen one before! Awesome pictures! The name seems very fitting. That is smart how they swim against the current to get the fish.

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  27. AshrunnerApril 16, 2008 2:19 AM

    I don't see Hooded Mergansers here, but I do get Common Mergansers. Very nice shots of these gorgeous birds.

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