All About Mergansers At Union Bay

Here is a recent post from the Union Bay Watch Blog published by Larry Hubbell, long-time local photographer and birder. 

Here also is an in-depth article about Larry and his work.



Neighbors

The look in this hooded merganser's eyes seems to invite the creation of captions. I can imagine the bird thinking, 'Seriously, with feet that large, you thought you could sneak up and take my picture?'

I do find that birds are aware of me long before I notice them. What seems to work best is to stop moving as soon as I see a bird. Often, when I become stationary, the bird will decide I am not a threat and return to whatever it was doing. This bird was preening and cleaning its tail feathers. 

It was especially fun to find and photograph hooded mergansers this week. It has been almost exactly six years since my first post - which, coincidently, was also about hooded mergansers. This makes sense because in November their numbers on Union Bay do seem to increase.

Here is an example of a male snorkeling for food. Unlike the western grebes which usually dive completely underwater when hunting, hooded mergansers sometimes hunt with just their eyes below the surface. This certainly seems like a dangerously exposed method of hunting. 

By the way if you happened to read last week's post, Elegant Assassins, before Martin Muller added his thoughts regarding western grebes, you may want to go back and read his post in the 'Comments' section. I found Martin's knowledge and comments fascinating.

Here is an example of the potential danger lurking high above the mergansers. Yesterday, Albert, the male eagle from the Broadmoor nest, was hanging out almost directly above the area where I photographed the mergansers. 

I was certain it was Albert when I saw, Eva, his  mate, pass by and inspire him to return to the nest. Given that female eagles are about fifty percent larger than the males, it was pretty obvious who was who.

Earlier in the day, a red-tailed hawk was stationed above the water on the other side of Foster Island. In both cases the windblown, leaf loss from the cottonwood trees is steadily improving their field of view.

Male hooded mergansers, with their large white-on-black cranial displays, sometimes 'telegraph' their moves.

When they begin lowering the feathers, and minimizing the white area, they are often preparing for action.

This file photo provides an example. When the top knot is minimized and the head is lowered close to the body, they are often about to dive.

On the other hand, when they extend their necks and maximize their displays, they are not thinking about food. In this situation I have always assumed they are trying to impress their mates. Although, it actually looks like the males are focused on each other while the females completely ignore their antics.

Regardless of their motives, I find these 'mating' displays joyful and refreshing, especially during the gray days of November. 

By the way, I don't ever remember hearing merganser calls. The two recordings, which I found on All About Birds, sound a bit like a frog and a raven. It makes me think I should pay closer attention. Maybe I have heard them in the past but not actually realized who was making the sound. In the future, I plan to listen more carefully when I am in their neighborhood.

I also found this wood duck and the surrounding yellow reflections to be a nice antidote to the grey clouds of fall.

This clean and pristine pair of gadwalls also attracted my attention. I don't ever remember seeing a male gadwall with so much white on its lower face and neck. I suspect it must be just individual variation. It may not be rare, but it is certainly striking.

Another refreshing surprise was to finally catch up with Goldie again. It has been a couple of months since I last saw her. It may be wishful thinking, but I do think her iris is looking a tiny bit more red. You can read more about her eye-color in the post, Elderberry Whine.

When I compare her eyestripe in the previous photo to this photo, from earlier in the year, I feel pretty confident this is the same bird. Plus, the fact that she is in the same territory also supports my thought. However, I was disappointed that I did not notice her mate, Chip, hanging around with her.

This last photo is less about the bird and more about the two swathes of parallel fall colors and reflections. I hope you enjoy it! By the way do not overlook the new surprise under the Going Native section below.